


The Winchester AutoShop needs an accountant

by Inalandofmythandtimeofmagic



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Artistic!Cas, Character Death, Fluff with a side of Smutt, M/M, There is no supernatural creatures.....except maybe ghosts?, accountant!Cas, mechanic!Dean, real world AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 14:41:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8717863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inalandofmythandtimeofmagic/pseuds/Inalandofmythandtimeofmagic
Summary: AU Mechanic!Dean, Artist/Accountant!Castiel, Fluff a little angst and a pinch of Smut. Lots of name dropping-#sorrynotsorry





	

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that I do not own any rights to Supernatural or any of its characters, also this has not been beta read so forgive any mistakes please.

Dean was in his very favorite place, laying under a hunk of American muscle. Cars, that is. Dean and his family made their living running an autobody shop, and Dean was working towards opening his own shop one day, just restoring the classics. He was humming along with a little Led Zeppelin when his thoughts were interrupted by a horrid squealing sound. Dean ran out front to see a cobalt blue, ‘73 Dodge charger. A beauty, and oh how Dean's fingers itched, he wanted under that hood, wanted to make her purr again and stop that awful squealing. 

 

A thick head of dark hair rose from the car followed by what seemed to be a firm set of shoulders under a white dress shirt. Dean swallowed when the face looked up at him. Blue eyes, a few shades darker than his car and lips that...

 

“The emergency brake is stuck, has been for about a month, but I just can’t take the squealing anymore.” a voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Dean didn’t know what surprised him more, the deep gravely voice he had not been expecting or the blaise in which he had just told Dean that he’d been driving his vintage car around with the freaking e-brake on. 

 

“You what?” Dean said angrily, and the man seemed genuinely surprised by Dean’s reaction. Was it a professional reaction? No probably not, but this joker had been driving... he. Dean couldn’t even finish the sentence. He ripped the driver side door open and started fiddling.

 

“It was my fathers,” the man said unhelpfully from behind him. “So you see, I can’t get rid of it.” Dean gave him an incredulous stare over his shoulder.

 

“Why would you want to, it’s a beautiful car.”

 

“It’s a ball and chain.” Dean’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he turned back to what he’d been doing. 

“Hey buddy why don’t you grab that tool cart, it’s sitting just inside the garage there.”

 

“Castiel”

 

“What?”

 

“My name is Castiel.”

 

“Okay Castiel, why don’t you roll that cart on out here.”

 

“Why not just pull it into the garage?”

 

“Because Cas, I’m not gonna drive this thing with the e-brake on, I’m sure you’ve done enough damage already.” 

 

“Castiel” the man said again, but he turned and started walking towards the garage. Dean shook his head. Good thing his dad wasn’t around to hear that. John would have his ass.

 

“How long is this going to take?” Cas said from behind him, having returned with the cart.

 

“I don’t know man. Depends on how much damage you’ve done, if you wanna take off that’s fine. I’ll give you a call when she’s runnin”

 

“When who’s running?” it took every ounce of self control Dean had, not to roll his eyes at the man in front of him who was wearing a scowl. “I’ll leave my card at the desk.” 

 

“Ya, you do that.” Dean most definitely did not watch the man’s slack covered ass as he walked away.

 

~

 

Castiel sighed, setting his trench coat and briefcase on the front desk of the Winchester auto-body shop. Behind the counter sat a thin red head. She was smiling brightly and a Hermoine Granger bobblehead was bouncing next to her keyboard.

 

“Hello,” He paused looking for a name tag or something. 

 

“Charlie” she supplied.

 

“Hello Charlie, I told your mechanic I’d leave my info here.”

 

“Okay, great, if I could have you just fill this out.”

 

“Of course. Hey what was that mechanics name anyways.”

 

“Was it the tall one or the freakishly tall one?”

 

“Uh, the tall one?” He guessed.

 

“That’s Dean.”

 

“Dean.” Castiel repeated to himself.

 

“I know, cute right?” Charlie grinned at him. Castiel floundered a bit

 

“I noticed a coffee shop next door, I’ll be there.” He finally said. Charlie smiled at him as another man walked in, wiping his hands on a rag, freakishly tall had been a good description. The man tossed Castiel a nod before turning to Charlie. Castiel swept his things off the counter.

 

Stepping out into the sun, he heard a shout of triumph. He looked over to see Dean pulling his car into the garage. Looking at the car made his jaw clench, he was quickly distracted though by the man who was currently stepping out of said car. A dirty gray tee shirt clung to him and didn’t leave a lot to the imagination. Dean’s colors reminded him of forest on a sunny day, all golds, browns, and greens. 

 

Castiel shook his head, crossing the street to the coffee shop. As he stood in line he wished he was at his usual place rather than this one, which was obviously one of a corporate chain. Oh well, we don’t always get what we want, he said to himself. How many times had his father said that to him. Castiel was starting to believe it too. The weight of the things his father had left behind slumped his shoulders and made his steps heavier. The biggest reminder of it all was that stupid hunk of junk across the street. 

 

The barista handed him his coffee, ‘Cas’ scrawled across the cup. Castiel was surprised to see the shortened version of his name Dean had used earlier. Castiel had never had a nickname before, and had corrected Dean when he had used it. His father had named him after an angel and had always insisted on calling him by his full name. But Arthur wasn’t here, and Castiel was a grown man now, he could be ‘Cas’ if he wanted to be. He sat down in one of the wooden chairs that looked like every other one in this cookie cutter coffeehouse, and pulled a book out of his briefcase.

Cas had nearly finished his book when his phone rang.

 

“Hello Mr. Novak, this is Dean over at Winchester…”

 

“Cas will do nicely” he interrupted. 

 

“What? Okay, Cas, I just wanted to let you know that your car is done.”

 

“Oh, Thank you.” Cas hung the phone up and stood carefully. He felt just a little stiff from sitting so long on the unyielding wood.  
~

 

Dean pulled the rumbling Charger out of the garage as Sam walked up to him. 

 

“Sounds good man.” Dean looked up at his little brother who was nearly a head taller than him. “What was wrong with her?”

 

“The e-brake got stuck.”

 

Sam nodded knowingly

 

“And,” Dean continued, “the guy drove it like that for a month.”

 

“What!? Why?”

“Beats me man, he's obviously got no love for this car.” Dean looked up to see Cas crossing the street. He greeted them with a very somber hello.

 

“Hey so I, uh replaced your breaks and rotated your tires, you should be good to go.”

 

“Thank you, what do I owe you?” 

 

Dean looked at the man for a moment, there was something about him that seemed a little worn, tired.

 

“Let's call it a hundred bucks.” He finally said. Sam shifted next to him and the man, Cas he corrected himself, looked at him, scowling surprise on his face. 

 

“I’ll walk you in and Charlie can take your money.”

 

“Hey Charlie, this is Cas we’re charging him $100 today.” Charlie’s fingers stilled on the keyboard.

 

“Dean, I’m sure I owe you more than that.” 

 

“No sir, $100 even.” Cas sighed and handed Charlie his card.

 

“So this is your dad's car?”

 

“It was.”

 

“Oh I’m sorry man. I didn’t know”

 

“It is alright, how would you have known?”

 

“It must be nice to have something of his.”

 

“Not really” Dean wasn’t sure what to say to that.

 

Charlie handed Cas his card back and he quickly put it away but didn’t leave.

 

“I just meant that the man I knew wasn’t the man that loved that car. I think he kept it because of my mom. It always seemed incongruous with his character.” Cas nodded to himself in satisfaction, and turned to walk out the door. Dean, Sam, and Charlie shared dumbfounded looks.

 

“Oh hey Cas!” Dean called after him.

 

“Yes?”

 

“You're going to want to replace those tires pretty soon.”

 

Cas simply sighed and walked out the door.

 

“You know dad’s gonna kick your ass right?” Sam said.

 

“Ya Whatever, that was kinda weird right?”

 

“I thought he was cute” Charlie piped in. Cute? Fucking hot, Dean thought.

 

“Ya if he was a she.” Sam said to Charlie who simply winked at him.

 

It was several weeks before Cas came back in for new tires. This time he sat in the garage talking with Dean. It was mostly small talk. Dean learned that Cas was an accountant and between the lines he learned that Cas hated being an accountant, that he had originally been going for an english literature degree but there had been to many bills his father couldn’t pay, too many religious texts to be translated. His father had been a professor of religious studies. He learned about Cas’ mother who was too “young and wild and free” to raise her child. Cas asked him where he’d gone to school. 

 

“Ah no man, I started working here for my dad when I was 15, never been nowhere else.”

 

“Really? And is that what you want?”

 

“Hell ya, I love working on cars, especially ones like yours.” He said giving the charger an affectionate pat.“I’ve been wanting to open my own shop that just does classic restorations.” Dean grinned at him.

 

Once again Dean undercharged him a bit, Cas gave him a disapproving look and Dean put on a faux-innocent face. Cas pulled out his card, reaching into his bag again as Charlie ran it. He pulled out a rather large jar of honey, setting it on the counter with a dull thud. Dean and Charlie look at him confused. 

 

“I keep bees,” he said by way of explanation, “I thought you all might like some.”

 

“Thank you” Dean said, picking the jar up and examining it, “ya, this is great” he said. He handed the jar to Charlie who was smiling and glancing between the two of them. He flashed a grin at Cas who blushed slightly and wouldn’t look at him. “Hey I noticed your oil is gonna be needing changed soon. You know how to check it?”

 

“I, uh no I don’t”

 

“Come, I’ll show you.” They walked back out front, leaning together under the hood. Charlie heard someone walk in behind her. 

 

“Aren’t they cute?” she said dreamily, turning around expecting to see Sam. Instead John Winchester stood behind her, she sat ramrod straight and may or may not have made a small ‘eep’ sound.

 

“Oh, I dunno Charlie, I’m mean I guess.” He gave her a small smile, and Charlie let out a little breath of relief. “Whatcha ya got there?”

 

“Oh that guy Cas brought us some honey, I guess he keeps bees or something.”

 

“ He paid us in real money though right?”

 

“Oh yes, definitely. Without a doubt.”

 

“UH huh.” John said skeptically. Man he loved these kids but they were gonna run this business into the ground. As much as he was in favor of helping someone in need, they were closer to losing this place then anyone really knew.   
~

 

Cas pulled the charger into the garage a few weeks later for an oil change, Dean was already walking out to meet him before he could even put the car in park. “Hey man, no tie today, I like.” He greeted him.

 

“Well,” Cas said slightly bemused, “ It is saturday.”

 

“Yeah, right, of course.” Dean laughed, and Cas decided he rather liked that sound. He looked down at his navy tee and worn jeans which had paint splatters on them, not sure there was much to like there. “ Hey thanks for the honey man, that is good stuff.”

 

“ Your welcome Dean,” Cas was only half listening, distracted watching the muscles of his back move under the Black Sabbath tee shirt the sandy haired man was wearing. “I’m gonna head across the street, I’ve got a little work I’m behind on” Cas lied. Truth was he didn’t think he could spend much more time around Dean without saying something stupid like ‘hey date me’ or ‘hey here’s my whole life story you didn’t ask for, I already told you about my mom, wanna hear about my daddy issues?’ Castiel sat on the coffee shop’s patio and pulled out his laptop. He tried to make himself actually do a little bit of work but instead he found himself writing, the idea of comparing Dean to a sunlit forest hadn’t really left his head since that first day. He could see Dean moving around in the shop, could even hear him belting along to the AC/DC song that came on the radio. It made a small smile tug the corners of his mouth up and his fingers flew across the keyboard. Hey was so engrossed in what he was doing that he nearly knocked his now cold coffee off the table when his phone rang. 

 

“Hey dude,” Cas looked up to see dean waving at him, “Car is done, want to head on over?”

 

“Ya, I’ll be there in a moment.”

 

By time Cas reached the front office Dean was nowhere in sight. Carlie greeted him with a bright smile and asked him how he was. He spoke easily with her for a few minutes, still looking around for Dean. Charlie ran his card quickly and was just handing it back to him when sounds of shouting started coming from John Winchester's office. Charlie cringed but didn’t look very surprised. The door was thrown open and Dean stormed out through the back door making his way to the small house next door to the property. John stepped out of his office and , noticing Cas standing there, offered him his hand. “Sorry about that, I’m John.”

 

“Castiel.” He shook his hand. Sam looked like his father, but it he could see that Dean had inherited a lot of his mannerisms from the man.

 

“Nice to meet you, we sure do appreciate your business. Hope Deans been treating your ride well.”

 

Cas let out a short laugh, “Well he’s certainly been treating it better than I have.” John smiled at him, walking towards the office windows. 

 

“That’s certainly is a nice car, bet Dean couldn’t wait to get his hands on it.”

 

“Yes, in fact he was rather angry with me the first time I brought her in.”

 

“Castiel, I want to apologize if my son was ever rude to you.”

 

“No, no. He wasn’t rude and I guess he was right to be upset with me, you see I’d been driving around with the emergency brake on.”

 

“Huh, ya that’d do it.”

 

“Yes, it had been that way for about a month.” John’s head whipped around to stare at him, and then the man laughed, a full belly laugh. Cas shifted uncomfortably. 

 

“No, I’m sorry I’m not laughing at you. I’m just surprised that he didn’t slug you right there.” Cas looked at Charlie for confirmation, she sent him one of her trademark grins and nodded. “That boy sure does love classic cars.” Cas thought that John's voice was an odd mingle of pride and sorrow, he couldn’t understand it.   
~

 

Dean walked out of the house a little calmer, beer in hand, just in time to see Castiel pull out onto main street. His heart dropped a little at not getting to see the quirky, yet incredibly attractive man. He wanted to kick himself, he must have run right past him looking like a five year old throwing a fit. Dean considered shooting him a quick apologetic text, but quickly decided that was probably a little on creepy side. He sighed and sat on the front porch downing his beer. So few customers came through these days, he figured Sam could handle the rest of the day on his own. Business hadn’t been exactly booming, more and more corporate shops where moving into to their small town, and family owned places like his were slowly dying off. Hell even Mabel's Diner had closed down and a Taco Bell was being built in it’s place. He knew it was stressing his Dad out, despite how hard John tried to hide it. Today’s fight had been stupid, John had overheard him telling Sammy all about his plans for his own shop. It had really just been day-dreaming out loud. He knew very well that he would never open a shop like that, he was needed too much here. Especially because he knew Sammy had been wanting to go to college, and that was a much more reasonable day-dream. He sighed, trying not to be angry with his Dad, it wasn’t his fault. Between the garage and the house, and Mom’s medical and funeral bills, the man was drowning. 

 

Dean sighed, and went in the house to start making dinner. If he was going to ditch everyone with all the work the least he could do was have dinner ready for them. He was just pulling a lasagna out of the oven when his cell phone rang, Cas’ name flashing across the screen. 

 

“Hey man, what’s up?” he asked, using his shoulder to hold the phone as he set the table. He tried to hide his smile at the extraordinarily frustrated man on the other end of the line.

 

“The emergency brake is stuck. Again. I know you told me I shouldn’t drive like that.”

 

“Ya, definitely don’t drive on it. I can meet you if you want?”

 

“Well I don’t want to be a bother,”

 

“No, no bother. We’re just about to sit down to dinner, so I can be over in like an hour. Unless you’ve got somewhere you need to go?”

 

“No, I’ll just be home so don’t rush dinner or anything.”

 

“Okay man, why don’t you shoot me your adress and I’ll see you in a bit?”

 

“Alright, Thank you Dean.”

 

“Anytime Cas.”

 

Dean hung-up, a small smile refusing to leave his face. “Dinner!” he shouted from the front porch, and quickly his brother and father appeared. He watched Charlie start walking towards her little yellow bug, “Hey Charlie!” She looked up at him in surprise, “Want some pasta?”

 

“Well who can say no to pasta?” she called back to him, dumping her bag in the car and walking towards the house. Dinner passed surprisingly pleasantly, the mood was far improved. Although, Dean had noticed, italian food seemed to have that effect. Part way through the meal Dean got a text from Cas. 1642 Chestnut Circle. Sorry for the inconvenience. ~Castiel. It made Dean snort a little, which of course made Sam reach over and pluck the phone from his hand. 

 

“Oh Dean, gotta a date tonight?” Sam taunted.

 

“No, the dude needs help with his car.”

 

“Yeah? Then why are you blushing?”

 

“Dude what are you six? I am not blushing. “ This statement was met with a chorus of laughter, which Dean rolled his eyes at, but couldn’t help chuckling along with. After dinner had been put away, Dean changed into a clean red tee and jeans before heading to Cas’. He hopped into his impala and smiled the way he did every time it thundered to life. It was the first car he had ever worked on, he and his dad painstakingly restoring the black ‘67 Chevrolet, it was his pride and joy, his baby. 

 

It took him about fifteen minutes to get to Castiel’s, who lived up on the hillside behind the local college. It was a little old house, white, with large oak trees out front and flower beds that ran along the picket fence, which looked to have once been well maintained but now were wildly overgrown. He parked behind the charger on the gravel drive that ran alongside the house. Once he cut the engine he could hear a humming sound. It took him a moment to place it, until he remembered that Cas kept bee’s. Cas was walking around from the backyard having obviously heard Dean pull in. 

 

“Hello,” he said in that deep and solemn voice of his, and began to launch into yet another apology. Dean held hand up to stop him.

 

“Honestly man, it’s no problem. “ He circled to the back of the impala and pulled out his tool box, “ I’m gonna show you how to do this, so you don’t have this problem again.” Castiel stared at him, doubtfully. 

 

“Uh, okay I guess.”

 

“Come on man, I swear it’s not that hard, you need to know these things.It’s cheaper than replacing the whole assembly” Cas sighed resignedly and settled into the passenger seat to watch Dean. He talked him through using a flathead screwdriver to pop the catch back into place. “ See not that bad,” Dean said but Cas still looked skeptical. 

 

“Would you like to come inside for a drink?” he said by way of response. 

 

“Uh sure.” Cas lead him around the back of the house which was shaded with oaks and running over with flowers. Dean spotted three white bee boxes sitting in the far corner and an eclectic set of patio furniture. Through the open sliding door he could hear something old and croony playing softly. The back door led into a small dining room kitchen combo and Cas gestured that he should sit at the table, while he himself moved around in the kitchen. 

 

“What kind of tea do you like?” this question took Dean utterly by surprise,having expected to have been offered a beer, and having never been asked that particular question before. 

 

“Uh” he said unintelligently, trying to remember any tea names he may have heard.

 

“How does peppermint sound?” Cas came to his rescue. Dean just nodded feeling slightly embarrassed. He looked around at the place, it was as eclectic as the patio furniture had been. Garage sale chic, Charlie would have called it. Dean liked it, every flat surface was stacked with books and notebooks and paint brushes. He could see an easel set up in the front room from where he was sitting. It had an almost absent-minded-professor-vibe to it, which Dean almost made a joke about until he remembered that Cas was a professor's son. Castiel was humming along to what Dean could now see was a record player, though which old crooner was singing he could not have told you. When the tea was done Cas suggested they move to the backyard, which Dean thought was a great idea. The yard was beautiful and cool in the twilight, and Castiel clicked on the lights that were strung across the yard, and while it was no beer, the peppermint tea wasn’t half bad. 

 

Dean kicked his feet up onto Cas’ chair, settling himself more deeply into his own seat. “This sure is a nice place you’ve got here Cas.” The man only responded with a half grunt. Dean tried again, “So bees huh? How’d you get into that?” 

 

“I’ve always related to bees I guess.” Dean felt this was an odd thing to say, and not particularly explanatory, so he waited to see if Cas would continue; but the man simply sipped his tea, oceanic eyes peering at him over the rim of his ivory mug. Dean opened his mouth, meaning to pursue this line of thought, but instead what came out was;

 

“We should go on a date.”

 

“What?”

 

“What? I mean, would you like to?”

 

“Go on a date?”

 

“Um ya.” Dean said rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe I mean, if that is something that you might like to do” internally a refrain of stupid stupid stupid was pounding through his head. 

 

“Yes Dean, I think that I would like to go on a date with you.” and all Dean could think to say was;

 

“Cool.” 

 

~  
Castiel was nervous, beyond nervous. All one had to do was look at the number of discarded shirts on his bed to see how nervous he was. He had picked up his cell phone to cancel this stupid date at least ten times. He ran his fingers through his hair. Come on Cas, it’s just a stupid date, he told himself. Truthfully it wasn’t just a stupid date, it was his first date ever. It was his first date ever and it was with the incredibly attractive and confident mechanic who had yelled at him for mistreating his car. He really should cancel, there were reports to go over still, and he was only half way through Animal Farm and really what was wrong with spending friday night curled in an arm chair with a book? 

 

He sighed, pulling yet another shirt off and over his head. He wished, not for the first time, that he had experienced more in high school. As a young man he had buried his nose in books to escape the loneliness both of his school life and his homelife. There he did not have to worry about the electric bill, or making sure his father stopped translating long enough to eat. Books didn’t care that he wasn’t athletic or that he didn’t know how to interact with other humans. They had been a great escape, but now he wondered how his life might have been different if there had been someone who interested him, or if he had just pushed himself out of his comfort zone. Maybe this wouldn’t be his first date? Maybe he wouldn’t be working a job he hated? Maybe saying maybe is useless, he thought to himself sourly. The sound of Dean’s impala rumbling up the drive pulled him out of his thoughts. Great, Dean’s outside and I’m standing here half naked, that’s great. Cas reached for a blue sweater, pulling it over his head as he ran downstairs to answer the door. Dean stood on the front step looking handsome as ever, he wore a green plaid that brought out the peridot color of his eyes and a brown leather jacket with the collar flipped up. Cas tried not to chuckle as he thought of the piece he had written, inspired by those very colors. Dean flashed him a sunny smile, “You ready to go?”

 

“Yes” Cas lied. Once in the car, they chatted easily, Dean carrying the conversation for him when necessary. Cas relaxed instantly, it felt just like all of the other times they had spoke. It was surprising to him, he had expected that one little word to change everything. They discussed music for most of the car ride; Dean loving classic rock, and Cas having grown up on The Rat Pack and Etta James. 

 

“I have to tell you though man, I do have one guilty pleasure when it comes to music.” Dean said giving him a sidelong glance.

“And what is that?”

“Well I dunno what to call it really. Hipster folk artsy sad pop?” Cas stared at him trying to figure out what hipster-folk-artsy-sad-pop was. 

 

“Like who?” he finally asked.

 

“You know like, Vance Joy and The Lumineers and crap.”

 

“Ah I see, I am also a fan of the genre, but I believe it's referred to as singer-songwriter or indie folk. 

 

“Yeah,” Dean snapped his fingers at him, “Love that stuff. Just don’t tell Sammy that, haha it’s not super manly. “ That statement puzzled Cas, not sure what taste in music had to do with perceived manliness, and if it did then why would Dean tell him something that made him seem less manly. He did not have too much time to ponder that question, however, as they pulled into what must have been their destination. Cas’s gut clenched in apprehension, it was a mini golf course. Why? Why would he choose this of all things? Why hadn’t Cas cancelled on him? Why had he taken his car into that garage? Why oh why? Cas panicked internally. The apathetic teenager at the window handed them each a neon bal, Deans a harsh yellow and his own a particularly garish shade of orange. They played the first hole and it went about as well as Cas expected. It took him nearly fifteen strokes to get the stupid ball in the stupid hole. His only comfort was that, though having expected him to get a hole in one, It took Dean about eight strokes. When they got to the second hole Dean set his club down and to the side. “What are you doing?” Cas asked him and Dean sent him a mischievous grin that both thrilled and slightly terrified him. 

 

“This time we use our feet to kick it in.”

 

“We what? I feel like that is probably against the rules.”

 

“Probably.” Dean shrugged and dropped his ball. He nudge it with his toe and it only moved a few inches. “Okay, note to self; it does take a little more force than that.” Dean laughed. By this point Cas was laughing too, it took him three kicks to sink the ball. At the third hole Dean laid on his belly and tried to blow on the ball to get it moving. The two of them could not stop laughing long enough to accomplish anything, and when they heard the next group come up behind them they scrambled out of the way. When they reached the fourth hole Castiel suggested using the ends of their clubs like pool cues, which resulted in much hilarity, and Dean finally picking up his ball and dropping it in the hole. The fifth hole they played like hockey, two clubs and one glaringly neon ball. They shoved and pushed at each other until Dean sunk the ball. He shouted in victory and ran little laps around Cas who was laughing so hard tears were leaking out his eyes. Next they had a competition to see who could juggle both balls longest. Cas won that one. Next they stood at the entrance and tried to throw the ball into the whole, Cas cheeks were beginning to hurt from grinning. They raced from the seventh to the eighth hole, sprinting to see who could drop their ball in first. This meant that by the ninth hole they had caught up to the group ahead of them. 

 

“Okay,” Dean said a little breathlessly, “ lets each hit one of their balls then we move on to ten.”

 

“There is no way I’m doing that. No, no way.” Rather than answer him Dean flashed him another grin, wiggled his eyebrows and took off, swinging his club and striking some high schoolers bright pink ball, before disappearing around the corner. “My apologies, So sorry, excuse me, excuse us,” Cas mumbled as he picked his way through the crowd, blushing fiercely. He rounded the corner to see Dean leaning against the fake stone, laughing silently, his whole body shaking with it. He walked over to him, “I can’t believe you did that.” He said trying not to laugh. Dean leaned forward until his head rested against Cas’ shoulder, still laughing. 

 

“We should move on before they catch up to us,” Dean said through his chuckles. They walk through the tenth and eleventh holes to put a little distance between them and the angry teens. At the twelfth they decided to play with their non-dominant hands, and at the next standing on one foot. At hole fourteen they tried to hold the balls between their knees and waddle them to the hole. Cas had the thought that he should be embarrassed but found he just couldn’t be. Not when he was having so much fun, Dean made things feel easy. At the next hole they tried to balance the golf ball on the club and walk it in, it was disastrous. Then they bounced them, trying to see who could bounce it highest and still make it into the hole then played the next hole normally. 

 

“Last hole,” Dean said, “needs to be something good.” 

 

“You know what would be humorous?”

“Hmm? What’s that?”

 

“If we purposely missed until those teens cought up and became frustrated with us.” Dean looked surprised at him, but his face quickly light up. 

 

“Yes! Yes dude that is awesome.” They lingered, waiting for the other group to catch up again. Once they could hear them they both began purposely missing shoots. It was nearly fifteen minutes before the kids started grumbling, waiting for them to move on. 

 

“Sorry guys, I’m just such a bad shot.” Dean shrugged.

“Whoops!” Cas called as he shoot his ball into the bushes. 

“Man I’ve lost my touch!”

 

“I told you I was no good at this.” They continued for sometime until Cas’ orange ball rolled to a stop a few inches from the hole, he stepped up intending to hit the ball well over the hole, the teens watched with baited breath. He gave the ball a good whack, it sailed over the hole bounced off the fake rock and rolled back, straight into the hole. There was a moment of stunned silence until Dean doubled over, the two of them could hardly contain their laughter as the teens hurried them off the course, still laughing as they half fell into the impala. They drove to a little park where a food truck was parked and got tacos. Sitting on a bench they ate in companionable silence for a while, watching the sun go down. 

 

On the way home Dean reached over and wordlessly threaded his fingers through Cas’. It sent a bolt of electricity to the pit of his stomach. Dean seamed relaxed, singing to the radio under his breath. Castiel however could only think about the fact that in the movies, most first dates ended with a first kiss. He was dreading getting home and facing that moment, he had never kissed anyone before and as much as he might like the thought of kissing Dean, his nerves wanted to skip it all together. 

 

Dean pulled into the driveway, killing the engine and coming around to open his door, which made him blush. They walked through the shadowy back yard, laughing quietly at the looks people had given them on the course that night. When they reached the back door Cas stepped up onto the step, turning to look at Dean who was still one step below him when he didn't let go of his hand. 

 

“I had a lot of fun tonight Dean, thank you.”

 

“Yeah I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time, my cheeks are sore.”

 

“I can’t believe we didn’t get kicked out.” Cas said, he tried to make his tone slightly admonishing but couldn’t stop smiling long enough. He saw Dean’s gaze drop to his smile, not for the first time that night. He stepped back down, invading Dean’s space a little, and Dean's hand immediately came up to cup the back of his head. It was a small, chaste sort of kiss,but world changing. At least for Cas it was; and he wondered as he watched Dean climb into the impala, if it had been so for him. He flopped on his bed, still covered in shirts, and grinned at the ceiling.   
~  
Dean grinned the entire ride home, happily belting along to the radio and beating his hands against the steering wheel. He was only half surprised to find his dad and brother drinking on the front porch. 

 

“Look at that grin,” Sam taunted him as he walked up. Dean rolled his eyes, pulling the beer from his brother’s hand and taking a long swig from it. “How was it? I’m surprised your home this early.”

 

“Ya well, he’s a real classy dude.”

 

“A classy dude?” Sam laughed. “Whatever you say Dean.” he stole his beer back and headed inside. Dean’s attention turned to his father, who was looking at him with a hint of a smile. 

 

Dean tucked his hands into his pockets, scuffing his toe along the patio. “So,” he started nervously, “we haven’t ever really talked about this. Is it, is this something, I mean are you okay with this? With me?” Dean looked up sharply when he heard John start to laugh. Dean’s bisexuality was something he had always known, but it hadn’t ever come up with his dad. He had dated Lisa all through high school, in fact there was a point when he had thought he would marry her. 

 

“Come here,” John said laughter still in his voice. He pulled Dean into a bear hug, and Dean took that as answer enough. His phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling it out he saw that Cas had text him. I hope you made it home alright. I had a really good time tonight~Castiel. Dean smiled looking down at his phone, John rolled his eyes and went in the house. I did. Thanks for putting up with me tonight. It had taken a large part of his will power to pull away from Cas, but he knew tonight had held a lot of firsts for the guy and he hadn’t wanted to push him or make him feel pressured or anything. Next time, he thought to himself. 

 

Put up with you? No, I enjoy spending time with you Dean~Castiel. Dean was torn between laughing at Cas’ formal way of speaking, or feeling thrilled to the core at the words. 

 

Well that's good because it’s too late to get rid of me now. 

 

Why would I want to get rid of you?~Castiel Dean snorted to himself, he could think of a whole long list of reasons but he certainly wasn’t going to list them all in a text. 

 

Hopefully you don’t figure out the answer to that question. 

 

I want you to know that I am rolling my eyes at you right now.~Castiel 

 

Haha, I think I better go to bed before I cause any more of that. ‘Night Cas.

 

Goodnight Dean. ~Castiel

 

Saturday passed normally, a few tire rotations, a few oil changes, more than a few pranks pulled on Charlie. By time Sunday rolled around Dean was in an exceptionally good mood. Partly because of Cas and partly because they were having a sunday barbeque and every one was coming. Sam and Dad were in town buying burgers and chips and drinks, it was going to be one hell of a party. Dean was working on pulling tables together in the drive between the house and the garage. Ellen, Jo and Ash were already there, working in the house to put together salads and sides. Well he was sure Ellen and Jo were working, Ash was another story. Bobby was supposed to be here soon and even Jody was making the drive down. Ah, Jody Mills. Dean smiled when he thought of her. After Mom had died Ellen had taken great care of them but Jody had been the no-nonsense voice of reason more than a few times. He remembered when Mom had first died, Sam was still in high school and decided to road trip with his friends, despite John telling him he was needed here. One call to sheriff Jody Mills and Sam was in cuffs and back in Kansas before he knew what hit him. 

 

Dean went back into the house letting the screen door slam behind him, which startled Ash awake from his place on the couch. “Dude come help me bring chairs in from the garage.” He said kicking the foot that was dangling off the edge. Ash grumbled but got up and followed him through the house. 

 

By the time John and Sam got back everyone was gathered out front laughing and snacking. John stood over the grill flipping burgers as Bobby critiqued his methods. They were a few minutes away from eating when Dean heard the now familiar rumble of the Charger pulling in. 

 

“It’s making kind of a funny sound.” Cas said before catching a glance of the many people there. Dean watched his face slowly turn to mortification. “ I should have called first, of course. I am sorry.” before Dean could open his mouth to reassure the poor guy John called over to him. 

 

“Cas! Come grab a plate, burgers are almost done.”

 

“Oh I couldn’t possibly,” Cas started to say but Dean simply grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the table. Was meeting the family a little much for the not-quite-technically-second date? Sure, but Deans so called family took the man in immediately, friendly smiles and warm handshakes. Bobby and Ash moved over to inspect the charger while Jody insisted that Cas sit between Dean and her. Dean beamed with pride both for his family and for his b...for his Cas who was interacting with them with minimal awkwardness. 

 

Charlie showed up halfway through dinner, apologizing. Dean immediately forgave her of course, because she came with a pie in each hand. After dinner and dessert had settled, Dean and Cas went for a ride to see if Dean could hear the sound. He slipped in behind the wheel of the dodge with a happy sigh. It ran smooth, maybe not quite as well as his baby though. It was slightly lifted in the back and only groaned a little when he pushed her. 

 

“You know we could do a full restoration on her. If you wanted.” Cas only hummed a little and Dean recalled him describing the car as a ‘ball and chain’ and decided not to press the issue. They drove around a little, finally coming to a place that looked out over the city. “Well” Dean said climbing out of the car, “I don’t hear anything wrong with her.”

 

“I know,” Cas said meeting him at the front of the car, grabbing the front of Dean's leather jacket and bringing their lips together. Shock was all Dean could register at first, but he quickly melted into Cas, grabbing his hips and hauling him even closer. They finally broke for breath, Cas resting his forehead against Dean’s. “That's all I’ve been thinking about since friday.” he whispered, breath fluttering along Dean’s cheek. Dean let out a small laugh that was half growl and caught Cas’ mouth again. Tracing his tongue over the pink lower lip, causing Cas to gasp, which Dean of course took full advantage of. He moved one hand up into Cas’ hair, gently pulling it back so that Dean could mouth over his jawline and down the column of his throat. The sound Cas made shot straight through him, and he should stop, he thought to himself, he really should stop. But Cas’ hands began traveling down his chest and stopping just wasn’t going to happen. Growling again he maneuvered them so that Cas was pressed against the hood of his car. Dean leaned over him for a moment, drinking in the sight of him. The sun had finished setting and in the half light Cas looked ethereal. Dean wondered where he got that word from but shrugged it off because it was the perfect word. Castiel’s Dark hair looked darker and laying against the blue hood his eyes looked impossibly deep, and his kiss swollen lips were this perfect pink color and how on earth had he gotten so lucky? Cas must have gotten impatient because he reached up, yanked Dean back down to his mouth. Dean ran his fingers through the thickness of that black hair and jumped slightly when he felt fingers slip under his tee shirt. He bit slightly at Cas’ lower lip and the man below him moaned. Heavens that was hot, Dean leaned his head down against Cas’ chest, listening to the man breath and trying to get himself under control. He finally rolled over, scooting them both up until they were comfortably reclined against the windshield. The first few stars were beginning to show as the boys tried to catch their breath, and Dean reached down to tangle their fingers together. 

 

“You are a wonder to me.” Cas said, still a little breathless. 

 

“I’m a what? “

 

“A wonder. I can’t believe someone like you would be interested in someone like me.” 

 

“What do you mean someone like me?” Dean said, the phrase making him uneasy. Cas rolled over to look at him, his face very serious. 

 

“You know, someone who is so attractive, and confident and happy and just has their life together.” Cas was struggling for words, which Dean thought was odd considering words always seemed to come easily to him. 

 

“My life is not together. I still live with my Dad and brother.” 

 

“Out of loyalty and responsibility not because your life is a mess.”

 

“Trust me Castiel my life is a mess. You liking me is the true miracle, like your my own little miracle. No not a miracle, more like an angel. “ He said with a chuckle, remembering that Cas had been named for an angel. Even through the thickening darkness he could see Cas’ fierce blush, and resolved to call him that as often as he could. He leaned down and pressed a kiss into his angels forehead. They decided to head back into town, singing along to the “hipster-folk-artsy-sad-pop” playlist Cas had made over the weekend. When they pulled into the Garage parking lot Charlie's bug was missing and Ash was passed out on the front porch. Dinner had been cleaned up and Dean felt a small pang of guilt for not helping out. Inside Ellen and Jody were still washing a few dishes, and his dad stole Cas away, wedging him between John and his giant brother on the old plaid couch. Dean made his way into the kitchen to help, keeping a wary eye on the couch. Cas looked slightly nervous, but not so much that Dean felt the need to intervene. 

 

“He is so hot!” Jo announced walking into the kitchen and swatting Dean on the shoulder. 

 

“Yes he is,” Jody agreed passing Dean a plate to dry, “He seems really sweet too.”

 

“That he is.” Dean said fighting to keep a smile off his face. Jo sat on the counter, fishing whipped cream out of a bowl with a finger. Her mother gave her a dirty look which she ignored, as the others continued to work around her. Dean glanced nervously into the living room again, Cas’ faced looked serious, but that was nothing unusual. He sighed, putting the now dry dishes into the appropriate cupboards. When everything was put away they moved into the living room where a game was being ignored on the t.v. The girls filled in the available seats and considering Cas was wedged between his brother and dad, Dean sat on the floor, leaning back against Cas’ knees. It didn’t take long for his family to decide that it might be fun to play the tell-all-the-embarrassing-stories-you-know-about-Dean game. Dean’s cheeks were red but he laughed along with the group, occasionally stealing glances at Cas to see if his opinion was being steadily lowered. Cas however just beamed, and laughed, reaching out to run his hand reassuringly through Dean’s hair after a particularly bad story involving a little Dean peeing on a gold fish during its toilet-funeral. 

 

“By far my favorite one,” Ellen said and Dean groaned because he was pretty sure he knew what story she was about to tell, and dropped his head back onto Cas’ lap, staring at the ceiling. “ We were up here for memorial day weekend and Mary couldn’t find Dean. We was looking all over the house and finally I look in the guest room and find that the bathroom door is locked. I knock and two-year old Dean opens the door just a crack. ‘What you doin’?’ I asked him and he told me he was decorating.” a chuckle went around the room and even Dean smiled. “ I pushed that door open and all of the walls were scribbled with red marker. I looked at Dean, intendin’ to yell at him, but the kid was stark naked and using the mirror to color his little bum red. “ laughter broke out around the room, it amazed him that no matter how many times his family heard this story they still laughed. 

 

Cas cupped his hands around Dean’s face, leaning down to look at him. “You know, I’ve alway thought red was a good color on you.” He said and pecked him on the forehead . The room “ooohed” at them which made made Cas flush and Dean chuckle. Bobby turned the tide by telling a story about Ellen, which led to a rash of people trying to one up everyone else’s story. Eventually Dean’s eyes began to droop, and Cas’ hands scratching through his hair were not helping him stay awake. At some point Jody and Ellen excused themselves to go to bed, and Jo helped Sam lug Ash up the stairs. 

 

“I guess I should head home.” Cas said, a little begrudgingly. 

 

“I’ll walk you out” Dean said around a yawn, standing up and stretching. They walked silently through through the dark to the car. Once they reached the car, Dean wasted no time pressing the shorter man against it. Cas moaned a little, causing his pale pink lips to part and Dean growled pressing the advantage. He was not as gentle as he had been earlier, fisting both hands in the dark hair and wedging a knee between his legs. When they finally got to the point where oxygen was necessary, Dean pulled away with a grin that was slightly cocky. “Goodnight Castiel.” he smirked at the man who looked a little dazed. He gave him one more peck before opening the car door and closing it behind him. 

 

“I’ll see you?” Cas asked through the open window, Dean answered by leaning in and kissing him again. 

 

~  
On monday Cas floated through work, even the relentless columns of numbers could not bring him down. Even when his boss, Bella, came over to yell at him he couldn’t stop smiling. He watched the clock all day waiting for one o’clock to come so he could head over to the garage. John had asked him if he was willing to go over the shops accounts with him and he had happily agreed, telling Bella that he needed a half day. 

 

When he got to the shop all he could see of Dean was a pair of boots sticking out from under a toyota. He smiled and shook his head at the muffled and off key Van Halen song the man was singing. Dean’s singing was quickly becoming one of his favorite things. He wandered into the main office returning Charlie’s bright smile and letting himself into John’s office. “Hello John.” He greeted, the older man was rubbing his temples staring at at the computer screen. 

 

“Hi Cas,”He said in that tired voice Cas had heard himself using far too often. They spent several hours going over things, and Cas couldn’t lie things looked a little on the grim side. However it wasn’t all hopeless, he was able to find several small cost cutting measures and was going to look into some advertising options that wouldn’t cost them an arm and a leg. Castiel actually enjoyed the afternoon, he had never imagined that ever happening, but the fact that is was his friends and their livelihood and that he was helping them made the normally mundane task engaging. At nearly 4:30 Dean walked into the office, he peered up at the man over his reading glasses smiling at the grease streaked across his face. 

 

“Cas! I didn’t know you were here.”

 

“He’s been here for hours Dean,” John said with a laugh in his voice. “He’s helping get the books organized. “

 

“Really, why didn’t you come say Hi?”

 

“You were busy.” Cas shrugged 

 

“Huh. You wanna go grab a bite to eat when you’re done?” Dean asked, flopping into one of the chairs across from John’s desk. 

 

“Yes, that would be nice.” Dean proceed to ask John something car related, and the two talked as he continued going over the accounts payable for the last year. He packed up at five o’clock and waited for Dean to change real quick. He didn’t have to wait long and soon they were on the road in the black impala. They went to a locally owned Italian place, Dean a strong advocate for local business and Cas tending to agree with him. It was small and cozy, warmly lit with pictures of nuns playing ping pong and riding bumper cars and other non-nunly activities, Il Piccolo Uomo, it was called. The food was amazing and the wine was heady, but really it was Dean’s smile that he was drunk on. They way it reached his eyes and showed the smile lines there. He supposed Dean was a little young to have crows feet but Castiel loved them. By the end of the night they ended up back at Cas’ place where they laughed a little more, and drank a little more and made out a whole lot more. Their movie date wednesday ended much the same way and again on friday. Saturday they did not even make it out of the house, instead Cas made grilled chicken with an arugula salad, some of which he even persuaded Dean eat. They ate outside as the sun set and when they were done they moved to a lounge chair, Cas sitting between Dean’s legs, nestled against the taller man's chest. They watched the stars wink into existence one by one in the darkness of the yard. 

 

“Cas?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You once told me that you related to bees.”

 

“Yes…”

 

“What did you mean?” 

 

Cas sighed, not really sure he had an answer. When he had said that to Dean before he had immediately regretted it. “Bee’s are, very good at doing what their told, and they're happy to do it, because it spreads creation and beauty. They are born knowing what they are supposed to do and they just do it.” There were a few moments of silence, Dean resting his chin on the top of his head as he thought this over. 

 

“And you think that’s you?”

 

“Well I mean, my whole life has been about taking care of my dad and doing what was needed because it was needed.”

 

“But what about what you wanted?”

 

“I may not have wanted to be a CPA,” he concided, “but I have always wanted to take care of my dad, I have always wanted to be good and dutiful. I didn’t say that to make my father sound bad, he was a very good man. Very loving and caring, his head was just a bit in the clouds and I never really wanted him to lose that quality. “ Dean chuckled and Cas twisted around to see his face.

 

“How do you do that?”

 

“Do what?”

“Think like that, don’t you ever think of yourself? I mean I love my dad and I know he tries his hardest, but even I resent the man from time to time.” 

 

“Don’t get me wrong there are some things I am very bitter about, but why let that over rule my life? Look at all the good that has come from my actions. Just like the bee’s they work and work and maybe feel like they are not doing any good when in reality the world would die without them.” He could see that Dean was thinking very hard about what he had said, a small crease forming between his brows. Cas stretched up and kissed that spot, feeling it smooth out as Dean smiled. 

 

“I don’t think you are like a bee at all.”

 

“Really? Than what am I like?”

“I don’t know yet, but certainly not a mindless drone who only does what its told.”

 

“Well if you put it like that.” He chuckled stretching up again to kiss Dean. 

The next morning was a sunday and Cas was at the hospital, visiting his father in the dementia ward. He felt a pang of relief upon seeing that his father was in a more lucid state today. He told him all about Dean and the work they had been doing on the car. Arthur smiled at that, “It is well that you take care of that car Castiel, it is all we have left LuAnne.” Cas’ jaw ticked just a little at that. 

 

“You always speak of her as if she had died, as if she was some long lost love, when in reality it was you who left her, who drug me away from her. “ He snapped. Arthur looked at him, startled. Cas immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over him, then took solace in the fact that his father probably wouldn’t remember this conversation. Then he felt even more guilty for thinking that. 

 

“She was not fit to raise a child, she couldn’t be bothered with you. Dosen’t mean I didn’t love her.” Cas raised his eyes from the carpet to per into his father's hazel ones, searching out the truthfulness of this statement. His father had never said that to him before, but his eyes looked clear and lucid. “Did I ever tell you the story of why we left?”

 

“No.” Castiel said with some hesitancy.

 

“It was the straw that broke the camel's back. I came home from school one night to find your two year old self wailing on the back porch. I immediately ran through the gate and scooped you up in my arms. I asked you what was wrong and you pointed to the door and said ‘locked’ in a teary little voice. The door was indeed locked, in fact all the doors were. I fished out my house key, calling for LuAnne as the door swung open. There was no answer and it quickly became apparent that she was not home. I found a note stuck to the fridge; ‘ going to a 3 o’clock movie with Trudy, then out for drinks. Don’t wait up.’ Can you believe it! You had been on your own, locked in the back yard for at least four hours! I tried to set you down so I could get you something to eat, but you refused to let go and that's when I knew. I knew there was no way I could trust her with you. So I packed up her Charger, well my charger that I had bought her, and got you the hell out of there. Came to live with you grandmother.” Cas’ gut clenched, in fact he felt as if someone had punched him. So maybe he had put his mother on a pedestal a bit, who wouldn’t? He had held in his mind an image of a beautiful gypsy child, going wherever the wind blew. His father let out a sad sigh, “Then when she found us again I had such hope, such foolish hope.” Cas remembered it well. He had been sixteen when his mother showed up on their doorstep, her hair was long, falling in blonde waves down her back and her eyes had been the same blue as his own. She had greeted him with a cheerful ‘hiya Castiel’ and breezed right past him into the house. Arthur had looked up from his ancient text an expression of utter shock on his face. 

 

“I remember,” Cas said, “I thought at the time that you got on well, that maybe she would stay.” 

 

“I thought so too, well fell back into our old patterns easily. Till one night, we were drunk, well I was drunk, and we”

 

“Dad I don’t think I want to hear this story,”

 

“You're probably right. Well after.. That… I woke up to find that she was gone along with your college fund I had kept in the safe under my bed.”

 

“You had a college fund for me?” Cas said in sheer amazement.

 

“Yes, it was about $5,000 she stole from us.” Cas nodded his head in a sad but accepting sort of way. 

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Whatever have you to be sorry for son?”

 

“I’m sorry she broke your heart.”

 

“Well I had you to mend it.” Cas just smiled at him as the nurse let herself in and told him that visiting hours were over.

 

He was walking through the hospital parking lot when he caught sight of a familiar brown leather jacket. Dean was leaning his forehead against his fists which were propped on the roof of the impala. “Dean?” he asked gently but the taller man still startled, swiping a hand over his face as he turned to look at him. 

 

“Hey man,” It was obvious that he was trying very hard not to cry and Cas felt his stomach drop with worry, “What are you doing here?”

 

“I was just visiting my dad, more importantly what are you doing here?”

 

“I thought you said your dad was dead?” Dean said ignoring Cas’ question.

 

“I never said that.”

 

“I swear you did, when I asked about the charger you said it was his.”

 

“I didn’t mean to be misleading. My father, he has dementia.”

 

“Oh Cas, oh man I am so sorry.”

“I’ll ask you again, why are you here?” Dean looked away from him and again Cas wondered why he was trying so hard to school his emotions. 

 

“It’s my dad, he had a , uh, a heart attack. He's in surgery right now. I just couldn’t sit in there anymore, and I didn’t want to break down in front of Sam.” All Cas could think to do was to pull Dean into a fierce hug and they stood that way for along time. Eventually Dean pulled away from him, “I guess I should head back inside.” Cas was about to ask Dean if he wanted him to accompany him, but he had already figured out that accepting help was not something Dean was very good at. 

 

“Can I come with you?” he asked instead, to which Dean simply shrugged but he held Cas’ hand tightly as they walked inside. They sat in the lobby for hours, heavy silence had settled over them. After a few hours Bobby and Ellen arrived as well, Ellen armed with sandwiches she tried to force each of them to eat. Sam obediently forced his down but Dean, resting his elbows on his knees, simply stared at it between his hands. Cas reached up to run his fingers through the back of Dean’s hair, wishing he could do more. If John could be healed by sheer force of will he was sure the man would be back in his shop already. 

 

At about half past six a doctor came in to the waiting area and called Dean over to him. Sam followed his brother and the rest of the group watched Dean carefully as the doctor spoke to him in low tones. In less then a moment Dean’s face crumpled, in fact his whole self seemed to suddenly deflate. Sam was angry, yelling at the doctor, telling him to do something, why hadn’t they done something. Dean wrapped an arm around his brother, pulling him into his side. Ellen tried to get her arms around both brothers and Bobby simply placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. Cas’ heart felt shattered, tears filling his own eyes as he watched the family. The doctor gave them a few minutes to say goodbye and then Ellen urged them home. With one hand wrapped around Sam she gently urged them outside where it was already dark. Cas slipped behind the wheel of the impala despite Dean’s protests. The whole ride home Dean started making funeral plans and would not listen when Cas told him that such things could wait. When they reached the house Ellen had already convinced Sam to go up to bed and she and Bobby were sitting at the table with a bottle of whiskey. Dean joined them, sitting heavily in the chair and downing three fingers immediately. They all looked shell shocked, no one was saying anything and the silence made Cas want to scream. He almost wished that Dean was sobbing, that he could handle, he could hold the man and comfort him. This stony drunken silence, well he didn’t know how to deal with that. 

 

“It’s just a dream right?” Dean finally asked, and his voice was rough with sorrow and alcohol. Before anyone could answer him he stood up suddenly and stumbled a few steps towards the hall. Cas immediately reached out to steady him, supporting his weight as they moved up the stairs and into his room. Dean collapsed face first onto the bed, unmoving. He gently pulled the man's boots off and made to pull the covers up when Dean caught his hand, trapping it against his chest and rolling over again, effectively pulling Cas onto the bed behind him. He sighed and settled in, pressing himself against Dean’s back and listened as his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. 

 

The alarm on his cell phone woke Cas up at 6pm. Sun streaming through the half open blinds illuminated the room, which was messy. Clothes were scattered every where in the small room, parts sat on the desk and the bookshelf, a jar of nails, screws and loose change adorned the bedside table and the walls were covered in classic rock posters. Dean was laying on his stomach again but his left arm was flung around Cas possessively, effectively trapping him. He quickly turned off the alarm on his cell phone, not wanting to wake the other man and sent Bella a quick text. Will be working from home today. I can be reached here if you need me. 

 

Fine. Don’t make a habit of it Castiel. He sighed looking at Dean. The sun brought out the golden tones of his skin and made his freckles stand out. Even asleep he looked devastated. Cas very carefully pried Dean’s fingers from his ribs, slipping slowly from the bed. He paused for a minute to see if he had woken him, but the frown on his face only deepened and he stayed dead asleep. The house was eerily quiet as he snuck down stairs. He went into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on and hunt down some breakfast fixings. He had just started frying some eggs when Dean came down the stairs, but a knock at the door deterred him from entering the kitchen. Cas could hear Charlie's bright voice even in the other room. “Hey sleepy heads, the shop’s still locked what's up with that?” Cas’ heart dropped with the realization that no one had told her yet. He looked through the living room to the doorway where they stood. Dean looked absolutely sick. 

 

“I’m so sorry Charlie, I meant to call but.” Cas couldn’t hear the rest of what Dean said because the eggs on the stove began to burn, but he could hear the moment Charlie started sobbing. He pulled the eggs off the stove as Dean brought Charlie into the kitchen and sat her at the table. Bobby came downstairs, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He and Dean began to quietly discuss funeral plans, which only made Charlie cry harder and Dean rubbed a hand soothingly across her back. By the time Ellen came down Cas had heaped the table with pancakes, eggs and bacon, leaving Sam to sleep. 

 

The next week passed agonizingly slow, he missed Dean desperately as he returned to work, giving the family the space they needed. On friday he dressed in his best suit and made his way to the funeral home. He could see Dean standing near his father's casket, shaking hands and smiling at people as they moved through the line. He was relieved to see that despite the dark circles under his eyes, Dean’s smile seemed genuine. He joined the end of the line, looking around at the many attendees. The room was bursting with people, old and young. He could see Jody standing next to another blonde sheriff, and Bobby stood in line next to Sam, looking out of place in his black suit. He reached Ellen who was standing on the other side of Bobby, she pulled him into a gentle hug and thanked him for all his help, and Cas felt a twinge of guilt, thinking that he hadn’t done nearly enough. Bobby shook his hand and thanked him for coming, and Sam barely had a chance to shake his hand before Dean saw him and pulled him into a huge hug. He felt a little deprived of oxygen, but he could tell that Dean needed it, even if the man himself would never admit it. Dean let him go without a word and turned to the next person in line. 

 

Cas stepped up to John’s casket, looking down he could not even recognize him. He just didn't look like John anymore. Cas knew what his father would say, about faith and a better place and all of that, but he had his doubts. Although there was no denying that this was not John Winchester, so his .. spirit… or whatever, the Johness of him must be somewhere else or was simply gone. Cas decided he no longer wanted to pursue this line of thought, and turned to look around the room again. He scanned the crowd looking for a familiar face and spotted Jo, her arm wrapped supportively around Charlie. They greeted him with sad smiles and stood talking without saying much for a few minutes. Cas kept his eye on Dean the entire time, watched as he greeted family and friends, smiling and even laughing with them. He was glad he was not the one standing up there, how do you deal with that many people? All of them giving you their condolences and asking how you are, what do you even say to that? He wondered what his own father's funeral would be like, him and a few professors from school sitting in a cold cathedral? It certainly would not be as full of people and love as this room was. The thought both saddened and relieved him, and he felt another wave of guilt wash over him. Eventually a pastor, Pastor Jim Charlie told him, ushered them into a the chapel for the services. Cas looked for a back row seat where he would not be in anyone’s way, but when Dean passed him he grabbed his hand and drug him up to the front row with the rest of the family. Cas stroked his thumb soothingly over the back of Dean’s hand until it was time for him to speak. Dean approached the front slowly, reluctantly. He made it through with only watery eyes and a catch in his voice and then quickly sat down again. He slipped his hand back into Dean’s and gave it a gentle squeeze, feeling him relax infinitesimally. 

 

From the funeral home they progressed to the cemetery, where Pastor Jim said a few more words before John was lowered into the ground. The sun beat down on them feeling unbearable as he watched Sam and Dean lean against each other as their father was lowered into the plot beside their mother. Ellen invited him back to the house for the luncheon and he left with her to help set up and to give the boys a few minutes of peace. 

 

When they arrived the Winchester home was a riot of activity. Family, friends and neighbors working to set up tables and prepare dishes. People laughed and told stories about John, Cas was amazed. He had never had occasion to attend a funeral, but he had always imagined them as bleak, somber affairs. He supposed that when Pastor Jim had said the purpose of today was to celebrate John Winchester, he had actually meant it. Cas helped Ash to set up tables, Jo and the blonde sheriff ,who cheerily introduced herself as Donna , followed them with tablecloths. Not much later the impala rolled in with both boys. Dean had already stripped off his coat and tie and had rolled his sleeves up. It was a damn good look, Castiel thought, and then felt yet another wave of guilt because this was not the time or the place for such thoughts. Once they had all sat down to eat, the story telling began in earnest. Castiel felt a wave of sadness as he realized how little he had actually known the ex-marine. There were stories about John being brave, and funny and kind. There were even stories about how obsessive he could be sometimes, and how he could be a real hard ass. Everyone laughed at those stories the most. 

 

~  
They night was winding down and Dean looked around the room in amazement. He couldn’t believe how many people had come today to give their love and support. He didn’t think he could have made it through the day without them. He looked around for Cas who had been a quiet strength to him all day. He spotted him near the stairs where, it looked like he was attempting to get a drunken Ash up them. Dean smiled at that and moved over to help him.   
“He is not being very cooperative.” Cas said by way of explanation. 

 

“Is he ever?” Dean asked affectionately. They deposited him on Sam’s bed and Cas sat on the edge for a moment. Ash may be small, but getting a passed out man up the stairs is always a challenge. He dropped a kiss to the top of the man's hair. 

 

“What was that for?”

 

“I just wanted to say thank you for today. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without you.”

 

“Yes you would have.” Dean let out a snort of disbelief but Cas pressed on. “Seriously, I can’t believe how easily you talked and laughed and smiled with everyone today. I could not do that.” 

 

“Ya, well it was nice to have at least one person there that I did not have to put a show on for.” Dean felt the impact of those words even as he said them, he had only known the guy for a couple of weeks and already he was saying things like this? Jeez get a grip. Then again it had been a very emotional day. He was trying very hard to ignore the empty feeling the house had now, even full of people. He looked up when he felt Cas stroke his cheek and offered him a forced smile. 

 

“What do you need?” the dark haired man asked in that deep, sincere voice of his. 

 

“I don’t know Cas, I don’t know. I need my Dad.” he said, and for the first time that day he let himself cry. Cas cupped the back of his head bringing it down against his shoulder and wrapping his arms around him. He let himself truly cry for the first time, not realizing how much he had really been holding back. A loud snore, however, made both of them chuckle having nearly forgotten that Ash was in the room. Cas cupped his face, used his thumbs to wipe away the tears, placed a kiss on his forehead and led him from the room. Dean paused at the top of the stairs, not sure he actually wanted to go down there. 

 

“You know, it is a perfectly reasonable time to go to bed.” Cas said from behind him, and Dean marveled at how well the man could read him. 

 

“You think? Everyone is still up and Jody usually gets my bed when she stays. I was going to sleep on the couch. “

 

“I’m certain that she would understand.” 

 

“Do you think, would it be rude if I asked, if we…”

 

“What do you need Dean?” Cas asked him for the second time, and the man must actually be an angel, he thought.

 

“Could we stay at your place tonight?”

 

A small smile lightened Cas’ face, “Of course Dean, absolutely.” They made their way down stairs, saying goodbye’s and thank you’s as needed. It took them almost fifteen minutes to get outside. He paused once outside, breathing in deeply and tipping his face toward the sky. He felt exhausted, down to the bone exhausted. He opened his eyes again to see Cas just watching him. 

 

“Come on angel, lets go.” He saw Cas’ cheeks color at the name and smiled a little. He flopped into the passenger seat of the car, leaning his head back. The next thing he was aware of was Cas gently calling his name, he opened his eyes to see that they were parked in the long gravel driveway, Cas was standing with the passenger door open waiting for him. He quietly led him inside and upstairs. It was an open room, white walls and hardwood floor, large windows looked over the back yard. The bed had a large white comforter that looked inviting and Dean wanted to sink into it. Cas tossed him a pair of sweats and a tee shirt from the dresser.

 

“They are a bit long on me so maybe they will fit you.”

 

“Thanks.” Cas went back downstairs while he changed in the adjoining bathroom. The sweats were just a little short on him, which made him feel extremely dorky, but they were also Cas’ which made him feel a little bit like grinning like a dork. He wandered over to the large window looking at the backyard. Just below the window sat a small desk with papers strewn about it. He picked up a small painting that had a watercolor meadow on it. Then something else caught his eye, a paper that had his name across the top. He picked this one up, it had text centered on it, like a poem, and was covered in red ink where corrections and edits had been made. He couldn’t help himself and he began to read it. He cheeks burned as he read Castiel’s descriptions of him, comparing him to a sunlit forest, both in colors and, majesty? Really Cas? He quickly dropped the paper when he heard Cas coming back up the stairs. 

 

“I made you some Chamomile tea, it will help you sleep.”

 

“I thought that was what whiskey was for?”

 

“I think this will be enough Dean.” Cas said, teasing admonishment on the edge of his voice. Dean smiled and gratefully took the steaming mug. Cas took his turn in the bathroom emerging a few moments later in a pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms, he walked to the bed a picked up a pillow. 

 

“Where are you going?” Dean asked, dreading being alone.

 

“Well I thought you would like the bed.” There was hesitation in Cas’ voice. 

 

“oh , I guess.” Unable to ask what he wanted to ask.

 

“Unless,” and the poor guy really did sound uncertain, “I mean I could stay with you, if you’ld like.” Dean just nodded at him, from his place on the bed. Cas smiled at him, “Well scoot over then, you're on my side.” Dean chuckled but scooted over happily. He watched him flip the light off before crawling into bed. The moon coming through the window made the dark haired man’s skin look pale and shadowed. Cas laid on his back and Dean rolled onto his stomach, resting his head on Castiel’s left shoulder. He felt fingers trace slowly up and down his back and it was seconds before he was asleep. 

 

When he woke up he found that he had wrapped his arm so tightly around Cas in his sleep that the awake man was trapped. “Sorry,” he mumbled quickly retracting arm, and re-burying his face in the pillows. 

 

“It’s okay Dean.” Cas said running his fingers through the hair at the base of his skull, he couldn’t help letting out a small happy sound at that. He rolled over so he could look at Cas, who was leaning over him with the best bed hair he had ever seen. He leaned up to kiss the man a thank you. He reached up into that glorious morning hair and used it to pull Cas down onto him, making a happy sound when the man's weight settled onto his chest. Needless to say it was another hour or so before they got out of bed, the entire time Dean was telling himself that ,no he couldn’t turn Cas’ bed hair into sex hair. Something about timing? 

They got dressed and drove back home to eat breakfast with the family and say goodbye to everyone. By noon the only people in the house were him and Sammy. What now? Was all he could think. The house felt unbearably quiet. Finally he started working on Baby, just to have something to do. He couldn’t believe it was over, the last week had been full of distracting bussel. Between planning the funeral, and the lawyers and the insurance company. They had gotten one break, Dad’s life insurance had covered the medical and funeral bills and even covered what was left of Mom’s bills. It was a miracle, there is no way they could have survived without it. Now he just had to keep the shop running. He could do that, couldn’t he? 

 

He stocked inside to get a beer, Sam was sitting at the table and quickly swiped at his eyes when he realized Dean was walking in. 

 

“What you got there?” he asked, referring to the paper clutched in his brother’s hand.

 

“It came a couple months ago,” Sam said in a rough voice. Dean picked up the paper and read it carefully. 

 

“Sammy this is a full ride to Stanford,”

“Yup.”

 

“Sam this is amazing, you should be happy.”

 

“Happy? Dad’s dead Dean, I can’t just run off to California.”

 

“Why not? I can handle things here. Dad would want you to go.” 

 

“Don’t pull that crap with me. No he wouldn’t and you know it. There is too much work here, and now he’s gone there is even more work.” 

 

“Sam, I can handle it, I swear you should go. At least think about going. Please?”

 

“Dean…” 

 

“Just think about it Sammy, that’s all I am asking.”

 

“The deadline for late registration is in a couple days, Dean. Classes start in a week.” that gave Dean a little pause. He didn’t want Sam to leave that soon, he didn’t want to be on his own. 

 

“Well then let's get you signed up. You can go and get an education Sam. You’d be the first in our family to go. Plus you can’t throw a scholarship like this away Sam. Do you know how many people need this? You’ll have a mob on your ass if you throw this chance away.”

 

“You really think I can go?”

 

“Yes, in fact I am making you go.” Sammy laughed at that, a real laugh and Dean was glad for it. He was going to miss the kid like hell, but it was what Sam wanted, hell it was what he wanted for Sam. They worked together that night to sign him up for classes and get a dorm lined up. Choices were limited considering how late they were. In fact there were no dorms available, and they ended up leasing Sam a studio apartment above a chinese restaurant. Dean tied to ignore how shady that sounded and Sam tried to convince him that it was ‘freaking awesome’. The week was a flurry, there was a lot to do to get Sam ready to go and to get the shop running again. The first day Dean had stepped into his father's office to try and make heads or tales of everything he’d ended by polishing off a bottle of whiskey. Cas had been a monumental help, taking half days and even skipping work all together. He worried about him, hoping that he wasn’t hurting the man's job. Cas assured him that it was fine, but he had his doubts. He had been toying with the idea of offering Cas a job here, but is that asking too much for you unofficial boyfriend of three weeks? Had it really only been three weeks? So much had happened. Dean once again thanked heavens for the man, not everyone would have stuck around. 

 

 

 

That first night without Sammy was unbearably quiet, the house feeling large and empty. Dean was suddenly faced with the fact that he was alone, and would be for the foreseeable future. It was unsettling, he had never been on his own before, not truly. Suddenly the weight of it, aloneness, settled over him. The weight of keeping the garage open and paying the house payment, it was crushing. He jolted out of bed, unable to sleep and got himself a beer, well two beers that turned into three. He was just polishing off the fourth and considering a fifth when his phone buzzed. Thinking of you tonight. Hope you’re okay, I know it must be a tough night. ~Castiel 

 

The house just feels so empty you know. Just me and memories. Ghosts. -D  
Ok that was really corny, late night buzzed corny-D

 

Do you want me to come over?~Castiel

 

It’s 2 a.m.You have to work in the morning-D

 

So?~Castiel

 

I am so taking you to dinner tomorrow night-D

 

I’m going to take that as a yes. See you in ten~Castiel Dean smiled at his phone despite the guilt turning in his stomach. He used the time to tidy up a little bit, sweeping beer bottles of the counter top and into the garbage. When had he become such an alcoholic? It wasn’t very long at all before he heard the charger pull in. Cas let himself in, looking adorable. He was wearing his blue pajama bottoms and a white tee shirt under his tan trench coat and had a glorious head of bed hair. 

 

“I didn’t feel the need to get dressed.” He said by way of explanation, Dean laughed a little, greeting his boyfriend with a kiss. Not that they had ever talked about being boyfriends, but there was a line where that talk wasn’t necessary right? Hadn’t they passed it? 

 

“Want a beer?” he asked, stepping back towards the kitchen. 

 

“No, and neither do you.”

 

“Actually, Cas, I’m pretty sure I do.”

 

“Nope. We are going to bed, we just got to get through one more friday then we can party.” Dean scoffed at that, trying to imagine what it looked like when Castiel partied. He rebelliously finished his beer, loving the disapproving look he got as Cas ushered him up the stairs. The dark haired man slipped into bed, immediately burrowing in as Dean went to brush his teeth. By time he got back Cas was very nearly asleep, and he felt a little guilty realizing that Cas must have been in bed already before he came over. He climbed into bed and hauled Cas to his chest. The man instantly relaxed even more, sighing happily. Dean marveled again at how lucky he was to have this man in his life, he blushed a little remembering what Cas had written about him. He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what, plus Cas had no idea he had even read it. So instead he began pressing kisses to the man's neck, trying to put everything he felt into it. 

 

“I was serious about going to bed Dean.” Cas complained, he chose to ignore this, urging the man to roll over and all but attacking him. Cas complied, one hand resting against his side lightly and the other running through his short hair. He swung one leg over Cas’s hip, but the man gently broke away from him. 

 

“Dean you need to sleep. You have to open the shop in less than four hours. Plus you’re drunk.”

 

“M’not.” He pouted.

 

“Whatever.” Cas sighed rolling away from him. 

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be..”Dean fished around for the right word, feeling vaguely guilty. 

 

“You weren’t anything Dean. Nothing to feel sorry about. “ Cas sighed rolling back over to face Dean. He gave Dean one more quick kiss before snuggling into him. “Go to sleep Dean.” he mumbled. Cas’s weight against him was soothing and he fell asleep relatively quickly. 

 

His five thirty alarm still came way too early. He groaned, pressing his face into the pillow. He felt Cas try to roll over only to be caught by his arm which was wrapped tightly around the other man once again. Sheepishly, he released Cas who immediately buried himself under the covers, grumbling for Dean to turn the alarm off. Dean forced himself out of bed and turned the alarm off, Cas was snoring again before he made it to the door. Dean snorted to himself, quietly closing the door behind him. He started a pot of coffee and made some toast,he turned the T.V. on low to fill the silence a little. This was normally a bustling time, his father and brother and him all running into each other and accusing the other of stealing all the hot water, guess he won’t have that problem anymore. When six came around he walked across the yard to the shop to open it up. Charlie arrived a few minutes later, as smiley as always. She sat down at her desk and turned her music up loud seeing as there were no customers in sight yet. He sat in his father’s office without actually working, instead he watched Charlie start brewing coffee and popping popcorn. He shook his head fondly as she danced and sang along to walking on sunshine. He sighed not even sure where to start, his father's desk was strewn with papers that he didn’t know the meaning of, he didn’t know what was important and what could wait. He dropped his head into his hands and rubbed at his temple. He was in way over his head. 

 

He looked up in relief when he heard the first customer pull in, a simple oil change. He knew eventually he’d have to get some of his father’s work done but for now he was content to work on the cars themselves. He had just finished when Cas walked in at eight thirty, he had dressed in a white button up and a pair of slacks complete with a blue tie that was nearly the same color as his eyes under his coat. Dean realized that he must have brought a change of clothes with him, and noticing his still wet hair felt glad that the man was comfortable enough to make himself at home. He greeted him with a kiss, which made Charlie smile at them and wiggle her eyebrows. 

 

“Did you sleep well?” he asked the man who smelled disconcertingly like him. 

 

“Yes, longer than I meant to. If I’m late again Bella’s is going to have a cow.” he sighed. 

 

Dean’s stomach turned a little, but he thought if there was ever a time to ask this was it. “You know, Cas, if you ever wanted to work here I could sure use the help. I can’t wrap my head around half the things in that office.” He held his breath as Cas looked at him consideringly. 

“Full time?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Let me think about it,” he said, giving Dean a quick, reassuring kiss, “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you after work. Don’t forget you owe me dinner.”

 

“Never.”

 

~  
The next few days passed slowly for Cas. He was tired from the late nights, before he met Dean he’d been in bed by ten at the latest, and he couldn’t stop thinking about Dean’s surprising offer. He would love to quit his job, wanted to see Bella’s face when he did, and he would enjoy working at the garage, but he was worried about working for the man he was dating. That seemed potentially dangerous, and he had his father's medical bills to think of. On the other hand, his house and car were both paid for and he could probably still pay the hospital bills if he worked full time at the garage. He chewed his lip thinking it over, he was so distracted that when Bella walked up behind him several hours later he nearly jumped out of his skin. 

 

“Working hard are we Castiel?” he looked down to see that she was referring to his laptop which he hadn’t even opened yet. “If you don’t feel the need to work then I don’t feel the need to pay you. Just because your father was a loafer doesn't give you the right to be one. Everyone else around here is pulling their weight. “

 

Cas felt anger boiling under his skin but tried to keep his voice calm, “All of my accounts are up to date. I work hard here and have never missed a deadline.”

 

“I don’t see how when your laptop isn’t even open.” 

 

“You right Bella, if that's how you feel then I can quit, you can fill my spot with someone who will actually work. “ he felt a flash of satisfaction at the slight look of fear cross her face. She knew that he was one of the hardest workers here and would not be easily replaced. 

 

“Come now Cas, be reasonable.” she said watching him pack his laptop and things off his desk.

 

“No you were right Bella, it would be better if I left now.” He started walking towards the door. 

 

“You're not even going to give your two weeks?” She called after him.

 

“Nope.” he popped without bothering to turn around. When he stepped outside he sighed happily, tipping his head up to enjoy the autumn sun. He smiled as he walked down the steps to his car. He drove around town for awhile, not sure where to go. He could head to the garage he supposed, but he wanted to savor this free feeling. He ended up sitting on a park bench with a cuban sandwich. The place was busy with kids running and laughing, families on picnics throwing frisbees with their dogs. He spent several hours there, people watching and soaking up the sun in the chill air. 

 

He left a little before five to meet Dean at the garage. When he arrived Dean had already showered and changed into a red button up, and damn he had meant it when he’d said it was a good color on the man. 

 

“Where do you want to go?” He asked climbing into the charger. 

 

“I’m up for anything. What are you in the mood for?”

 

“Pie.”

 

“Pie is not an acceptable dinner, Dean.” 

 

“Ya ya, I know. I was just thinking about Mable’s, they had the best pie. To bad it’s a damn Taco Bell now. “ Cas hummed in agreement. 

 

“You know there is a little coffee shop near my house, it has pretty good pie, but we need real food first.” 

 

They ended up at a local pizza place, it was a little hole-in-the-wall place that was in the basement below a micro brewery. Dean was right, it was one of the best pizza’s he had ever had. He couldn’t stop grinning as the man in front of him shoveled food into his mouth. 

 

“What?” Dean finally asked around a mouthful. 

 

“I quit my job today.” He continued to grin as Dean nervously swallowed his bite. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” 

 

“And….”

 

“And I would love to come work at the garage.” Dean leaned across the table to plant a big kiss on him, almost before he had finished speaking. 

 

“That’s awesome.” Dean looked so relieved it made his grin even bigger. Dean was grinning now too, it made his eyes crinkle. He didn’t think he’d seen him grin like that since John had died and resolved to do what he could to make that grin come around more often. 

 

After dinner they parked at Castiel’s and walked the half block to the coffee shop. He chuckled as Dean near moaned over the pear and ginger pie. When they had first arrived Dean had complained about ‘hipsters and their unusual flavors’ but now seemed perfectly happy. He kept reaching across the table to steal bites of Cas’ cinnamon chess pie, which he was fine with as he leaned back in his comfortable chair with his coffee. He loved this place, it was an old house that had been retrofitted. It was furnished with comfy and eclectic furniture and lit with mismatched antique lamps and string lights. Plus they had damn good coffee. They lingered there, talking happily until the shop closed and they had to walk home. Now that the sun was down it was rather cool out and Cas took Dean’s hand, leaning against his shoulder. 

 

He had just walked through the back door and into the warm light of the kitchen when Dean pinned him against the countertop, pushing his coat from his shoulders. He groaned a little as Dean teethed down his throat, reaching up to pull his tie off. Cas pulled his face back up to where he could reach it, kissing him deeply. He worked at the buttons of Dean’s shirt as the taller man steered him backwards towards the stairs. They tripped and laughed and kissed their way up the stairs until Cas landed on his back in the middle of his bed. He looked up at Dean who was standing over him, red shirt hanging open, and bit his lip in appreciation. Dean climbed over him, pressing gentle kisses down his throat to his collar, mouth following as he undid each button. Cas felt his stomach tighten as Dean mouthed low over his ab’s, kneeling down he hooked fingers into his waistband and tugged both his pants and his boxers down. Rough hands gently traced down his legs, catching around his ankles. Dean guided a leg over each of his shoulders, pressing kisses to the insides of his thighs before slipping his mouth over the head of his cock. 

 

“Dean!” he moaned, arching up off the bed and burying his hands in Dean’s hair. His breath was coming in pants now, he felt heat low in his belly and just as his body was going tense Dean pulled off of him. 

 

“Hold on angel,” Dean said reaching into his pocket and fumbling through his wallet before pulling out a condom and a packet of lube. Holding them out towards Cas with a questioning look. “What do you think?” If he was being truthful he felt terrified in that moment, and Dean must have seen it in his face because he immediately retracted his hand.

 

“Wait Dean,” 

 

“No it's okay Cas, whenever you're ready. If all you ever did was hold my hand I would be happy so you just tell me when you're ready. “ Dean’s voice sounded a little rough, his pupils blown, hair mussed from Cas’ hands and his cheeks were warm beneath their freckles. His face was so open and sincere, Cas felt as though a hand had wrapped around his heart and was squeezing. He pulled Dean up onto the bed next to him, kissing him gently. He worked Dean out of his jeans as best he could without separating their mouths. Once Dean was naked he took a minute to look him over before tentatively reaching out to run a hand up his shaft. Dean let out a soft sigh, dropping his head back. 

 

“I do want this,” He whispered, which seem to be the most noise he could muster up as he continued to explore with his hand. Dean raised his head to look at him, he could tell he was blushing but knew Dean would not be able find any reason to doubt him. 

 

“Okay, how do you want to do it?”

 

“What do you mean?” Now it was Dean’s turn to blush a little, which only confused him more.   
“Well, should I do you or do you wanna do me?”

 

“Oh”

 

“Ya oh.” Castiel was blushing hard now, when he had thought about this before he had assumed he would be on the receiving end. He had never considered the alternative. Both sounded pleasant and terrifying in their own ways. “Or we could not do it all, don’t push yourself into anything you don’t want to do.” Dean said kneeling up to press a kiss to his forehead. He was really nervous that if Dean was on the receiving end his inexperience would screw it up, he felt far less nervous about letting Dean ‘do him’. 

 

“Um, I think I would like to be on the receiving end.” He said haltingly looking at Dean for signs of relief or maybe disappointment. Dean just smiled at him and kissed him again, laying him back and kissing him some more until he was relaxed again and the nerves were gone. 

 

“Roll over angel,” he said gently and Cas promptly did as he was told, letting Dean position him until his knees were under him and his chest was pressed to the bed. He felt Dean kneel behind him and tensed a little, but all the man did was drape his body over Castiel's and press kisses to the back of his neck until he relaxed again. Those kisses left his neck and followed the line of his spine until he reached the base, at which point Cas had expected him to stop. He couldn’t help a gasp of surprise as Dean continued his path, pausing to suck on a cheek before licking over his hole. Dean lathed attention there, sending shudders of pleasure up his spine. After a moment he felt something else there, cooler, and then Dean began to press a lubed finger against his entrance. He tensed again at the foreign feeling and Dean paused his movements to run a hand over Cas’ spine and whisper softly to him. He took a deep breath and focused on relaxing his muscles, once he had Dean resumed the movement of his finger. It didn’t hurt like he had expected, and after a moment he began to enjoy it. Dean’s soft words washed over him as he added a second finger and then a third. Dean crooked his fingers and hit something that sent a jolt up his spine and he moaned and arched of the bed for a moment, he could practically hear Dean smiling as he crooked his fingers again. 

 

“You ready for me angel?” Cas could only nod against the sheets. Dean entered him slowly making sure he had time to adjust and asking him over and over if he was okay. It did burn just a little, but Dean reached around and stroked him until he was fully seated. 

 

“God Cas.” Dean groaned behind him, his hands smoothing down his spine. Cas squirmed for a moment, as he got used to being full. “You ready angel? Tell me when you're ready baby.”  
When Cas nodded he started to move again, slowly at first, until Cas started to push back against him, moans caught low in his throat. Dean set up a rhythm, pulling out slowly and then snapping his hips forward. He leaned over Cas to thread their fingers together where they were braced against the bed. Cas began to feel the heat low in his belly again as Dean’s rhythm stuttered and speed up. He reached around Cas, pulling him in time with his thrusts. Dean wrapped an arm around his chest and pulled him upright into his lap. It tipped him over the edge, cum splattering his chest, and Dean following close behind him. 

 

Cas groaned as Dean slipped from him and they collapsed onto their backs. All of his limbs felt heavy and immovable, so it came as a surprise to him when Dean got out of bed. He watched him disappear into the bathroom, and emerge a moment later dressed in his boxers with a wash cloth. He helped Castiel clean his chest and got him into his boxers before urging him under the covers. He felt Dean tuck him into his side, and he borrowed under the covers and against Dean and was very quickly asleep. 

 

Cas woke up sunday morning because he was burning hot. He tried to get out from under the heavy comforter but an arm around his ribs kept him pinned. He looked down to see that Dean was once again on his stomach and in addition to the arm there was also a leg thrown over him. He wanted to snuggle in and bask a little more, but it was sweltering. He tried to use the arm that was not trapped to toss the comforter from them without waking Dean. He managed to get their torsos uncovered and was instantly relieved, snuggling closer to Dean and letting the fingers of his free hand trail lightly over Dean's arm. He marveled at Dean’s ability to sleep on his stomach, wondering how he didn’t suffocate. He, himself, had never been able to sleep on his stomach, preferring to toss and turn, and roll about the bed. Perhaps that’s why Dean always kept such a firm grip on him, so he didn’t steamroll the poor guy. He blushed slightly to himself, firmly hoping that was not actually the case. 

 

He glanced out the window, noticing that the sun was already high in the sky, and wondered what time it was as he was unable to roll over enough to see the clock. Finally accepting that he was going nowhere he laid back and let memories of last night wash over him. He smiled down at the gentle-teddy-bear of a man, parts of last night had been terrifying, verging on uncomfortable, and he didn’t think he could have stood it if it was anyone else. Dean had been patient and loving, and by the end of the night his fear and discomfort had been replaced by pure bliss. He no longer regretted his inexperience, there was no one else he would have wanted to share this with, no one else he would trust like this. His fingers paused their tracing at the thought, those were some pretty heavy words. Did he love Dean? He wanted to scream yes at the question, but his brain tried to tell him that that was dumb. He had only known they guy a few weeks, he couldn’t possible be in love with the man. Even as he said this to himself he knew it wasn’t true, he was in love with Dean Winchester. With that thought he fell back asleep in the arms of the man he loved. 

 

He woke up a few hours latter in an empty bed. Frowning at this he slipped out of bed and pulled his pajama bottoms on. As he ventured down the stairs he could smell coffee and bacon, when he reached the bottom he saw Dean standing in the kitchen in his boxers. “Good morning. Want some bacon?” Instead of answering the question, Cas came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Dean’s middle. 

 

“You really should wear a shirt to cook in, you’re going to burn yourself.” He admonished pressing kisses to the place where Dean’s neck met his shoulder. Dean simply hummed in agreement as he flipped the bacon from the pan to a plate. 

 

“Breakfast is served.” He smiled.

 

“Just bacon?”

 

“What's wrong with bacon?”

 

“Nothing as a side, we need some eggs or toast or something.” He said letting go of Dean long enough to look through the fridge and pull out a cantaloupe. He made some toast and sliced the melon as Dean waited impatiently at the table. 

 

“There, that’s a much more balanced breakfast, even if it is almost noon. “

 

“Uh-huh, can we eat now?” Cas chuckled rather than answer that, starting in on his own plate. 

 

They were just finishing up when they heard Dean’s cell ring from upstairs. 

 

“It’s probably Sammy, do you mind?”

 

“Of course not, why are you even asking?” 

 

Dean dropped a kiss to the top of his head then took the stairs two at a time. Cas started clearing up the dishes, he could hear Dean’s voice floating down the stairs. Not enough to tell what he was saying, just enough to know that he was there. It was kind of comforting, he had been alone for so long he hadn’t realized he’d missed having someone else in the house. When breakfast was cleared he went up stairs mouthing to Dean that he was going to take a shower as he passed him. He nodded then proceeded to ask Sam if he had been drunk at the time. That peaked his curiosity but he moved through the room quickly, not wanting to eavesdrop. 

 

He just about died when Dean stepped into the shower with him, his face turning beat red. Dean just gave him that cocky smile of his, reaching past him for the bottle of shampoo. He felt hyper-aware of every move Dean made as they continued to shower, but the taller man kept his distance, only stealing occasional kisses until the cold water forced them out. 

 

“How was your talk with your brother?” he asked as they toweled off. He turned away from Dean feeling embarrassed. He shouldn’t be, they had just slept together for heaven's sake, but there is something different about the day light. Dean obviously didn’t have that problem as he blatantly watched Cas dress. 

 

“It was good. He seems to be enjoying himself out there. Which is good.” 

 

“It is good.” He reassured, hearing the slight sadness in Dean’s voice.

 

“He told me he is living with a ghost.” Dean said laughingly. 

 

“A what?”

 

“A ghost, can you believe that. I guess he’s called some guys to come look at it. “

 

“Guys? Like Ghostbusters?”

 

“Yeah, except these guys call themselves the Ghostfacers.” Cas snorted at that.

 

“And Sam is buying all that? That doesn't sound like him.”

 

“Right? I told him he must have been way too drunk this weekend.” 

 

“That’s great. A ghost.” He was still chuckling when Dean’s cell rang again. It was Ellen this time. 

 

“Hello?” Dean said almost reluctantly. 

 

“Where in hell are ya?” He could hear through the phone, Dean winced holding the phone away from his ear a little. 

 

“I’m at Cas’. Where are you?”

 

“Well I came up here to check on you and make sure you was eatin’. And what do I find? An empty house and your car in the drive, I half thought you were dead. Now get your butt over here, I brought dinner.” 

 

“Yes ma’am.” Dean breathed, although it was obvious that she had already hung up on him. “Mind giving me a lift?”

 

“Of course Dean.” 

 

When they pulled up to the house Ellen was out front beating a rug. 

 

“You’re not cleaning my house are you?” Dean called as he got out of the car.

 

“Well someone's got to.” He watched the taller man shake his head and kiss Ellen’s cheek fondly. 

 

“I keep a very clean house, thank you very much.”

 

“Uh-huh. Hey some guy called for you, Craylee, Crow... Something. I left you a note about it on the table.” 

 

Cas tilted his head curiously at the angry tick that appeared in Dean’s jaw. “Crowley?” Dean asked in a voice that was low and pissed. 

 

“Yeah, that was it, Crowley. Who is..?” She began to ask but Dean had already stalked into the house. Cas and Ellen exchanged bewildered looks, lingering outside as long as they could, not wanting to eavesdrop. Well, wanting to but not willing to. The silence between the two waxed awkward as Dean's angry voice petered off. 

 

“Did you by groceries too?” He shouted at them in a lighter tone, walking towards the front of the house. They both let out small sighs of relief, moving into the house.

 

“Well you can’t live off beer and bacon alone.” She replied, Cas leveled him with his very best I-told-you-so-face. 

 

“Sure you can.” Dean said, patting his belly and ignoring the face Cas was making at him. 

 

“So who was that on the phone?” Ellen asked, something he, himself would never have done. Dean’s face darkened a bit, but he tried to play it off. 

 

“Just some lawyer. Dad was a bit behind on the house payments so he could stay current on the shop’s mortgage. “

 

“You gonna be okay?”

 

“Oh ya, defiantly.” Dean said in a tone that wasn’t at all convincing. Ellen gave him a skeptical look but continued to clean around him. She continued to glance at Dean as if she wanted to say something, but didn’t have the nerve. That made Cas feel a little worried because Ellen had a lot of nerve. 

 

She assigned them odd jobs throughout the day, despite Dean telling him that he did not have to stay. ‘It wasn’t Cas’ job to clean his house, and for that matter he was a grown ass man and did not have to listen to Ellen either’. More than once he suggested the two of them ditch Ellen for a movie or something, and then he would wink at the stink eye she’d send him. It wasn’t until they were sitting down to eat the chicken pot-pie Ellen had made that she brought up whatever it was she’d been wanting to talk about all day. 

 

“So I’ve invited Bobby and Jody up for tomorrow.” She said with a wary glance at Dean. 

 

“Oh, it’ll be nice to see them, but you don’t have to keep worrying about me. I’m just fine on my own. “

 

“I ain’t ever gonna quit worrying about you. I just thought it’d be nice you know, to have some help boxing John’s things up. “ Ah, there it is, Cas thought and looked over at Dean who had froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. “I just think it’ll be easier for you to start life again once some of his stuff is cleared out.” 

 

“You mean once I throw his things away, then I can forget about him.” His voice was angry, but was too tinged with hurt to be insulting. 

 

“No! You know that’s not what I was saying. I just think you’ll feel better once you’re living in your own space, not your dead Dad’s shadow.”

 

“His shadow? I may not have always gotten along with the man but that doesn’t mean I just want to throw him out!”

 

“No one’s asking’ you to. But you also don’t need a closet full of his clothes anymore.” There was a moment of stony silence before Dean spoke again. 

 

“I just don’t want it to feel permanent, you know?” he said in a much smaller voice. 

 

“Well that’s healthy,” Ellen grumbled, but Cas rubbed his hand over Dean’s back. “Look, I get it Dean, I really do. But I promise, you will feel better when you stop expecting him to walk back through the door. Make this house yours.”

 

“I don’t know that I’ll have the house much longer anyways. May as well start packing now.” He mumbled. Cas was surprised at the news but Ellen did not seem to be. Dean squared his shoulders a little before he started talking again, “If I can get a good price at the auction I might be able to get almost caught up on payments though.”

 

“Auction?” Cas asked at the same time that Ellen stood, leaned over the table and stuck her finger right in his face. 

 

“Dean Winchester you are not, under any circumstances selling your car. That car means more to you and to your daddy than any old house ever will.”

 

“Well what do you want me to do?” 

 

“I dunno,” she said throwing her hands in the air. Cas could see that Dean’s response was only going to be louder and angrier, so he cut in. 

 

“You have options Dean, maybe we can all discuss them later. For now let’s just eat before it gets cold.” Dean looked at him as if he had almost forgotten he was there, before looking down ashamedly. Cas put a reassuring hand on his knee and turned the conversation to smaller things. Dean remained stony throughout the rest of the meal, and the small talk that passed between him and Ellen was only lightly tinged with awkwardness. 

 

~  
Dean was furious, staring down at his cold pot-pie. If he had been alone he may have even been tempted to punch a wall. No, he definitely would have punched a wall already if it weren’t for the two other people in the room. They, however, were not the object of his fury. No that was what it always was, his own damn self. It wasn’t as if Ellen had suggested anything ridiculous or had been trying to hurt him or anything. She was taking care of him the way she always had, and in returned he had yelled at her, practically thrown a freaking temper tantrum. To top it off Cas had witnessed his mini-melt down. The guy probably thought he was a toddler. Then again, his hand was still on Dean's knee and he was talking gently with Ellen as if nothing had ever happened. Dean snuck a suspicious side glance at him, looking for signs of forced politeness. Not seeing any, he turned his attention back to his food. He ran his fork through it a few times before Ellen told him to go stick it in the microwave. He felt very much like pouting as he got up to re-heat his food. 

 

They went to bed early to escape the awkward quite that hung over the house. Cas immediately burrowed in the covers after his usual fashion. He felt somewhat annoyed that the man could fall asleep so quickly while he himself tossed and turned and was generally unhappy. It only took a few moments of that before Cas reached out to him, pressing up against his back and wrapping arms around him. Dean suspected it was mostly to keep him still, and he really did try to lay still and fall asleep until Cas began to mumble against his back. 

 

“What?” he asked, unable to understand the muffled words. 

 

Cas raised his head sleepily, “Go and talk to Ellen,” He grumbled before dropping his head again. Dean suppressed his smile by rolling his eyes and huffing as he climbed out of bed. He picked his way gingerly through the messy room, he probably should feel embarrassed about that but Cas didn’t seem to care so neither did he. He knocked quietly at Sam’s door before pushing it gently open. Ellen sat in the bed with a book propped against her knees and a pair of reading glasses half way down her nose. She looked up at him over the frames and his heart ached a little because it reminded him of his father so much. He sat down on the corner of the bed, tucking one leg up under him and searching for words. Words hadn’t ever been his speciality. He started and stopped several times, and Ellen watched him patiently. This is the part where his dad or Sam would say ‘it’s alright you're forgiven’ but Ellen was going to actually make him talk.

 

“I acted like a kid,” He finally said frustratedly. 

 

“Yes you did, and?”

 

“And I’m sorry. You didn’t mean anything by it and I shouldn’t have gotten so upset.”

“You’ve always had a short temper Dean. And even when you were little you hid things like fear and sadness, hell even happiness with anger. Why is that?” Dean ducked his head a mumbled an ‘Idunno’ to his chest. Ellen motioned for him to move to sit next to her and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as soon as he was within reach. “You got to stop doing that kid, you're just like your old man.”

 

“Is that such a bad thing?” he asked, leaning his head against her shoulder and picking at the blanket. 

 

“You know I loved John like a brother. He was a great man, but he had his flaws. We all do. And Dean, I know you can be so much more than he was. Hey listen to me boy, I can see the doubt on your face right now.” Dean tucked his face against her shoulder but didn’t say anything. “Hurt can either soften a person or harden them. When your Dad left the war he was thorny as hell, and Mary softened him a little but he was still a hard man. And when he lost her we hoped he would soften up, let himself be a little broken, but he didn’t. You have a choice here Dean, you are losing a lot. Are you gonna walk away compassionate? Or are you going to be as thorny as John was? Now you go get it bed, the last thing we need is for you to be a grump tomorrow. “

 

Dean smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead before going back to his room. He collapsed face first on the bed, reaching his left arm out to pull a dead asleep Castiel against his side. 

 

He woke up with a start when he was hit in the back of the head with a pillow, he cracked one eye open to see Jody standing next the bed, her arms already full of his laundry that had been scattered across the floor. He turned his head to look at Cas who had groaned and was pulling the quilt up over his head. “Fife mins” he mumbled, tightening the arm that was wrapped around Cas’s middle. 

 

“No sir, you need to get your but moving. You to pretty boy.” she said yanking the quilt off of Castiel’s head. Cas groaned, rolling over and struggling onto his knees. 

 

“Coffee. Need coffee. “ He said in that sleep rough voice and Dean couldn’t help pulling him down into a kiss. 

 

“I expect you downstairs in ten minutes!” Jody called over her shoulder as she left the room. 

 

“Ten minutes?” Dean said wiggling his eyebrows at Cas.

 

Cas however laid his head down on Dean's shoulder, “Yes, ten more minutes of sleep.”  
Dean laughed a surprised laugh at that, “You know, that’s not really what I meant.” Cas shushed him, peppering small kisses across his shoulder and over his jaw. They forced themselves out of bed, Dean pulling on a pair of jeans as Cas shuffled down the stairs in his pajamas. 

 

By time he got downstairs a still bleary eyed Cas was clutching a cup of coffee and munching on leftover french toast. The microwave behind his head blinked the time as eleven thirty. Dean marveled that Cas could look so sleepy when they had slept for over ten hours. He left Cas to his coffee and wandered down the hall to his dad’s room where Bobby and Ellen already had half filled boxes strewn about the room. They were labeled with things like ‘trash’ and ‘donation’ there were even boxes with his and Sam’s names scrawled across them. 

 

They day moved quicker than he would have thought. By three his father's room was completely cleared out, and after he refused to move into it, Ellen and Jody had set it up as a guest room. Bobby began working through the garage with him while Cas and the ladies drove the donation boxes to a local goodwill. 

 

By six they were all exhausted, collapsing around a delivery pizza at the table. The house felt...comfortable if unfamiliar. Not what he was expecting, but nice. The house itself was sparkling, thanks to Ellen and Jody. Even the windows had been power washed, Dean didn’t think that had been done since his mom died. The house felt lighter, and in turn Dean felt lighter. 

 

They were just finishing up when Cas came back, having excused himself earlier to go and visit his dad. Dean jumped up to greet him, grinning and pulling him into a hug. Cas was slow to respond, his arms coming up sluggishly and barely brushing against his shoulders.

 

“Hello Dean,” he said, but his rough voice sounded small and tired. He pulled away to look at him, brow crinkling in concern. Before he could ask him anything, Cas turned from him, walking into the kitchen and flopping into a chair at the table. He started talking with the others but it was obvious that his thoughts were far away as he nibbled on his pizza. Dean was beginning to feel anxious. Cas was always quiet when he got back from visiting the hospital, that was understandable, it couldn’t be easy and Dean did not even want to picture what it must be like. He could tell that today had been rough and all he wanted to do was pull Cas into his lap and stroke fingers through his hair. However he still had a room full of company so instead he bounced his knee anxiously trying to silently communicate with Cas who was pointedly ignoring his worried looks. 

 

He got up and fished a notepad and pen from the drawer by the phone, passing it to Cas who picked it up and immediately began sketching even as he continued to make small talk with Bobby. Dean smiled as he watched Cas’ shoulders un-slump and his eyes become more focused. 

 

That night after everyone had left they sat sprawled together on the couch, Cas laying in his lap. He had already given up on making Cas talk about what had happened with his dad today, the most he had gotten from him was that they had talked about Cas’ mother LuAnne. He bent to press a kiss into Castiel’s dark hair and was surprised when a hand in his own hair stopped him from sitting back up. Cas rolled over in his lap, leaning up to kiss him. They shuffled awkwardly until Dean was on his back, Cas hovering over him and attacking him with desperate feeling kisses. Several times he tried to slow them down and several times Cas derailed that plan. If Cas was seeking comfort then that's what Dean would give him. He felt a strangled sort of noise get ripped from him as Cas sucked the first hickey onto his collarbone, his hands sliding up under his shirt and ripping it up over his head. He mouthed a little roughly down his chest before taking Dean into his mouth. Without quite knowing how he got there , Dean found himself lying on the carpet, fumbling to get the condom and lube from his wallet. Cas made to snatch the lube from him but he held it out of his reach, this was not something he was willing to rush. He sat up so he could reach Cas, swallowing all of the little noises he made, until Cas swatted his hand away. He rolled the condom on and steadied Cas with his hands on his hips. The dark haired man lowered himself slowly, but quickly picked up the pace. It was rough and Dean could feel the carpet scratching against his back, he almost stopped it several times and every time Cas would lean down next to his ear and tell him he was okay. Dean came before Cas, but he wrapped his hand around him and it didn’t take the man long to finish, collapsing next to him in a heap. Cas wiped himself with the tee shirt he had been wearing before passing it to Dean and pulling the afghan off the back of the couch. Dean made a face but Cas was already asleep and Dean himself was exhausted and sex drunk, and so he wrapped an arm around Cas and fell asleep. 

 

Morning brought with it a particularly grumpy Castiel, which Dean attributed to the early morning hour, after all he wasn’t the one with carpet burn on his back. Not that Dean was complaining, much. However he did start complaining more when he noticed the blush it brought to Cas’ cheeks every time he did. Once they opened the shop Cas locked himself in the office with a pot of coffee and an adorable pair of reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. Dean couldn’t stop smiling all day, life was feeling normal again, even happy. He was working on cars, his beautiful boyfriend was nearby all day, and how can you not smile when Charlie's around? Plus this weekend was the first of October which was always Dean’s favorite month. Pumpkin pie, corn mazes, spook alleys, horror movies, fall leaves and apple cider. Plus this year he’d get to do all of that with Cas, which was awesome. In fact he was planning to start this Halloween season with a showing of The Fly at a local drive in. Cas was classics man and Dean was 80% sure he would enjoy it. 

 

At noon he brought some lunch into Cas who was sitting on the floor amidst various stacks of papers. “Did your father not know what a computer was?” He glanced up from the hand written ledger he was studying, eyes zeroing on the the leftover pot-pie. 

 

“Not really,” Dean laughed handing Cas the plate and helping him stand up. “You don’t have to get this all done today you know.”

 

“I know, I know.” he mumbled around a mouthful of food. 

 

“What do we want to do for dinner?”

 

“I’m kind of in a mood to cook something, can I make dinner tonight?” Dean nodded enthusiastically, he was happy to let Cas cook for him anytime. 

 

“I’m selling my car.” He said casually, as if this wasn’t an out of the blue or off topic thing to say. Despite the tone, Dean did not find that statement very casual at all. He ate for a minute, trying to read Cas’ expression, which was annoyingly blank. They only thing that gave him away was the tense set of his shoulders, as if he was waiting for Dean’s response. 

 

“Oh really? Something else you want?”

 

“Yes. Something much more practical, like a gas efficient sedan or something.”

 

“A sedan? No you need something more badass.” Dean snorted which got Cas to smile at him for probably the first time today. 

 

“Badass and gas efficient don’t usually go hand in hand.”

 

“Well that's probably true. Maybe after work we could go car shopping.”

 

“That would be great, and then I could list the Charger online.”

 

“No, if you're really serious about selling we should fix her up a little and take her to the auction. You’ll get a better price there and you’ll know you're not getting scammed. Plus whoever buys her at auction will take good care of her.” 

 

“That's wise.” 

 

“Huh, I dunno that wise is the right word but okay.”

 

“I was also thinking that the extra money could, you know help you get payments caught up.” 

 

Cas finally looked over at him, he looked uncertain and a little wary, but mostly he looked determined. His blue eyes had a certain steely look about them that told Dean he wasn’t going down without a fight. He had seen that kind of look before, usually right before fists started flying. Certain that a punch to the face was not the proper response, not that he wanted to do that, Dean cast around for the right words.

 

“Cas, you know I can’t accept that.”

 

“Won’t.”

 

“What?”

“You can you just won’t” Cas held up a hand to stop him from talking, “Now I’m going to sell that car either way. That's not about you, that's about me and my mother. I care about you and what happens to you, especially because I hope that what happens in your future has something to do with what happens in my future. So just take sometime to think about it.” Dean felt a clench in his gut at the words. When Cas thought of his future was Dean in it? He himself hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking that far ahead but he definitely could see Cas there. Ya definitely. 

 

“Why are you grinning at me. I thought you'd be mad.” Cas asked which only made his grin grow bigger. 

 

“How could I get mad at an angel like you?” He teased watching a blush crawl up and over Cas’ cheeks. Dean laughed and cupped his ass before walking out of the office, throwing a smirk over his shoulder so he could see the blush deepen more. 

 

Seeing as there were no customers around, and considering that he’d wanted to really work on this car for quite awhile, he wasted no time pulling the Charger into the garage. He gave her a once over, mentally making a list of everything he wanted to do and prioritizing it by cost and importance. Now that Cas had given him the green light he wasn’t cutting any corners. 

 

~  
Cas stood stock still for a moment, willing his cheeks to cool down before he got back to work. His goal today had been to digitize all of John's records, they’d be a breeze to organize once they were in the computer. It was proving to be a much more difficult task then he had anticipated. He’d even enlisted Charlie’s help and they had barely made a dent. Admittedly John’s terrible handwriting was only half the problem, he was distracted today. He couldn’t stop replaying his conversation with his dad over and over. The more he thought about it the angrier he got, showing in the restless bounce of his knee as he poured over the ledgers. He wanted to find Dean and distract himself again, prove that Dean wasn’t anything like LuAnne. How could his father say that, he hadn’t ever met the man? Cas’ brow furrowed as he forced himself to refocus on the ledger in front of him. What if his dad was right? No, that was dumb, Dean had never given him any reason to doubt. A love of old cars and rock n’ roll did not make someone a flight risk. Dean was much too solid a force in his life to ever be considered fleeting, wasn’t he?

 

Was he though? They had never really talked about what they were. He thought the proper term was “dating”, but maybe they were at the boyfriend point. He didn’t really know, having no experience at all he had been letting Dean take the reins. Well up until last night when he had snatched the reins right out of Dean's hands for the first time. It had only taken a moment for his embarrassment to burn off and be replaced with want. Wanting to be close, wanting comfort and pleasure, wanting to claim Dean as his, wanting to erase the doubts his father had planted there. He had felt his desperation boiling beneath his pleasure and he had felt Dean’s concern beneath the surface of his pleasure. He knew that Dean would likely bring those concerns up first real chance he got, but he would duck that conversation as long as he could. 

 

A slight knock on the door roused him from his thoughts, he looked up from his place on the floor to see Charlie standing in the doorway with a stack of folders. “I just finished these ones, where do you want them?” she said, just as chipper as always. 

 

“Uh, they are all in the computer now so do we still need them? Maybe we should keep them just incase. We could put them in storage or something.” 

 

“That's probably a good idea, I’ll just stack them here and we can pick up some file boxes later.”

 

“Thank you Charlie, your help has been invaluable. “

 

“Hey no problemo,” She said picking up another stack to input into the computer. 

 

“Before you go come look at this, do you think this says 2009 or 2004” He said pointing at the ledger with the year scrawled on top. 

 

“That's… uh...nine I think. “ 

 

“Thanks,” he sighed tossing the book in they pile with the rest of the 2009 paper work. Two more hours, he told himself, two more hours and then he’d call it a day. He turned his music on, letting Nat King Cole help him focus. Eight hours was a normal shift anyways so he felt absolutely no guilt about skipping out at two. He popped his head into the garage to say goodbye to Dean only to find him under the Charger already, singing along with the radio. Cas didn’t recognize the band but it was obviously classic rock and he made a mental note to ask Dean about it later. He walked up to the car and gently kicked one of the boots sticking out from under it to get the man's attention. Not gently enough he supposed as Dean jumped slightly hitting his head with a dull thud and a groan. He rolled out to look up at Cas, somewhat accusingly. 

 

“How’s it going?” he asked ignoring the accusatory glance. 

 

“Good, good. All I plan on doing is little things really. Replace that e-brake and stuff like that, the biggest thing I want to do is re-upholster it if we decide we want to spend that much. “

 

“Okay. Well I was going to take off, but if you’ve got my car…”

 

“Where were you wanting to go?”

 

“Just home, there’s a couple of things I need to get done.” 

 

“Okay, well why don’t you just take the Impala?” Dean said with a casual shrug, Cas stared a moment to determine if he was serious. He had driven the Impala once before of course, but there had been extenuating circumstances and even then Dean had fought him on it. “You know where the keys are. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” he said rolling back under the Charger and seemingly ending the conversation. 

 

Cas couldn’t help but smile a little, he knew what the Impala ment to Dean and the fact the he had just handed the keys over with out blinking, well it wasn’t a little thing. He also hadn’t missed how often Dean had begun to refer to them as “we”, it sent butterflies through him every time he heard the word. 

 

He retrieved the keys from the dish just inside the door, marveling again at the state of the front room. Dean’s family had transformed the house, and he had to admit it was nice. He wondered if maybe he shouldn’t pack up a few of his own father’s things, he hadn’t even touched his father's office since putting him in long term care. He pulled carefully out of the driveway and onto main. On his way home he stopped at an office supply store to pick up some file boxes and an external hard drive for the shop, then he hit the grocery store to get things for dinner that night.   
It was nearly three before he got home, and after putting the groceries away, he sunk gratefully onto the couch. The events of last night had certainly put him into a deep sleep, but the living room carpet had not been the most comfortable bed. He only let himself sit for a minute before forcing himself to his feet to get dinner started. The weather had been chilly enough to justify a beef stew and he quickly set about putting everything on the stove to simmer. He choose an Etta James record and put it on before settling himself in front of his easel. 

 

Time passed much more quickly when he was painting and so he was taken completely by surprise when a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up at Dean, whose entire attention was on the canvas in front of him. “I didn’t hear you pull up.” He said for the sake of saying something. He felt a little nervous having his work scrutinized over his shoulder like that. Well maybe scrutinize was a strong word, but it didn’t stop him from holding his breath. It was a dark colored painting,lots of blacks and dark dark greens. It depicted come great pines on the shore of a small lake, faintly illuminated by starlight. 

 

This was actually his fifth time painting this scene, never happy with it. It was a childhood memory from a time when he and his father had gone camping. He had gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and made a wrong turn on his way back. What used to be one of his favorite spots quickly became terrifying as he wandered around in the dark. He kept thinking how he was all alone in the dark woods and his six year old brain tried to convince him that this was a permanent state of being. Of course he had only been on his own for a few minutes before his father found him, starting as yellow light in between the trees and coming closer until he could make out his father's form behind it. That image though, of familiar landscape turned dark and scary, had always stuck with him. Now it was his father who was stuck there and Cas didn’t have a lantern with which to find him and bring him home. 

 

Dean’s voice shook him from the memory “This is fantastic Cas,” He said,pressing a kiss to the top of his head and he felt his cheeks color. 

 

“It is not finished.”

 

“I feel like there is a story here, that's more emotion than any tree has a right to.”

 

“Really, you can pick up emotion in it?”

 

“Well, I mean, I guess. I dunno I'm not an art person.” and now it was Dean’s turn to blush.

 

“Like what emotions specifically?” This was the part that had been tripping him up and causing him to scrap painting after painting, none of them had the right feeling.

 

“I don’t know, you know i’m not to good at emotional crap. When I look at it I feel kinda…” Dean made a vague motion with his hands. 

 

“I don’t know what this is,” He said copying the motion. 

“Kinda sad or anxious I guess, like my chest is tight or something.” Castiel nodded thoughtfully letting Dean off the hook, the taller man breathed a sigh of relief before changing the topic. 

 

“It smells amazing in here.” He said patting his belly. Cas hopped up off his stool and moved into the kitchen to stir the stew. 

 

“It’s just about done, give it another 30 minutes or so.” He said turning to watch Dean shrug out of his leather jacket before draping it over a dining room chair. 

 

“30 minutes huh?” Dean asked with a raised eyebrow. It would come as a surprise to absolutely noone that the next half hour was spent making out on the couch. When they sat down to eat Dean immediately asked him about his conversation with his father, he distracted him by telling him the story behind his painting. Dean took the story in stride, gripping his hand comfortingly and then continued to press him. Finally he told Dean about it, from the story of why they left, to LuAnne stealing his college fund to Arthur comparing Dean to her. Dean nodded and listened, then gave him a bear hug rather than saying anything aside from asking if he could meet Arthur sometime. 

 

By the time dinner was over and out away Dean had completely erased his glum mood and had him laughing until his sides hurt. All night the words ‘I love you’ had sat on the end of his tongue and all night he had held them back. There was an easy solution though, every time he was tempted to talk he would just lean forward and kiss him. Dean seamed fully on board with this plan. 

 

The rest of the week passed much the same way, he’d put in eight hours at the shop, come home and paint or write or tend his bee’s. Dean would come home around six and they’d eat together. Cas had even talked him into going to bed at ten some nights, and Dean had convinced him to keep beer in the fridge. Dean’s toothbrush even sat next to his in the holder in the bathroom. It had happened slowly, without anyone saying anything about it, but no one had set foot in Dean’s house in nearly a week. Even though it would make more sense to stay there next to the shop they had both gravitated towards the little two bedroom behind the collage. 

 

He supposed that was why it had been so easy for Bobby and Ellen to talk Dean into selling the house. It was a smart move, best way to get Crowley off their backs and keep the shop. Dean was looking at apartments but they both knew it was just for show, Dean was living here already it was simply time to make it official. Cas wondered if tonight would be a good time to bring it up, Dean had a surprise planned for tonight and he’d been excited about it all day, which made Cas just a little suspicious. 

 

When Dean got home a little after six he immediately began to pack the Impala with blankets, and a thermos of hot cider which Cas suspected was probably spiked. The next thing to go in the car was Castiel himself, Dean impatiently holding the door for him. Dean fidgeted with excited energy the entire ride, ignoring all of Cas’ inquires as to their destination. Cas grinned when he saw where they were going, it was a drive in movie theater at the edge of town. Already cars were lined up in front the screen, couples bundled together in the beds of trucks and on the hood of cars. Some sat on the hay bales grouped around fires near the front. 

 

“It is officially October,” Dean said as he climbed out of the car, Cas following close behind him. “My favorite month, so I thought we’d kick off the festivities with a movie. The Fly.” Cas simply smiled back at the childlike joy on Dean’s face as he spread a blanket over the hood before giving him a hand up. He expected Dean to settle next to him but instead the taller man wiggled between his knees and leaned back against his chest. Cas propped one knee up to keep them balanced and began to card fingers through Dean's hair as the movie started. 

 

Dean opened the thermos taking a sip before passing it back to Cas, well he’d been right about the spiked part. Dean sent him a smirk over his shoulder and he bent his head to kiss it away. Cas was ready to forget the movie, one hand already coming up to hold his jaw in place, but Dean just teasingly scolded him and turned back to the movie. He too tried to watch the movie but kept getting distracted with Dean's neck, pressing kisses there and scraping teeth over an earlobe. Dean made a frustrated noise, turning in his arms to attack Cas’ mouth. They broke for air and Dean looked up at him with green eyes and cheeks glowing a little pink beneath their freckles. 

 

“I love you.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized they were there. Dean stilled in his arms, something like hope in his eyes. 

 

“You do?”

 

“Yes, of course I do. I love you Dean Winchester.” Dean let out a small sound before surging up to kiss him again. He felt Dean whisper the words back against his lips. They kissed as much as they could around their smiles and laughs, until a hollywood bottled scream made them both jump and laugh. 

 

“Move in with me.” He said as Dean shuffled them about to lay together against the windshield.   
“Duh,” was his response as he broke out a pack of licorice. 

 

Epilogue 

 

The next month passed quickly, they rented a storage unit and moved John’s things as well as some of Sam’s things over there. They also packed up a lot of his own father's things and moved them over there as well. Cas set up the main floor bedroom as guest room. In case Sam ever wanted to visit, he had told Dean which had made him beam and distract Cas for the next 30 minutes or so. It was easier than he would have thought to make room for Dean, he settled into all the cracks and empty spaces Cas hadn’t even realized were there. Both literally as well as in a more metaphorical sort of way. They sold both the Charger and the house, barely breaking even on the latter. 

 

Between all that Dean had insisted they decorate the house and the shop for halloween, and every weekend was full of corn mazes and scary movies. They were even going to make a three hour drive tomorrow for what Dean claimed was “The scariest haunted house in the state.” Which Cas had to admit he wasn’t looking forward to, but he was looking forward to the happy smile it would plaster on Dean's face. 

 

He looked up at Dean who was next to him gutting a pumpkin and singing along with the monster mash in preparation for the party they were having that night. It was a costume party and after many teasing arguments and some begging Dean had talked him into dressing as an angel, Dean himself was dressed as a devil complete with a pair of black contact lenses. He grinned, threading his fingers through the sandy hair to pull him into a kiss. Dean made a happy surprised sound, holding his hands wide away from his body so as to avoid getting pumpkin goo on either of them. 

 

“What was that for?”

 

“I just love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, if you have anything to say leave it in the comments!


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